J Periodontal Implant Sci.  2010 Aug;40(4):188-193.

Esthetic evaluation of maxillary single-tooth implants in the esthetic zone

• Cho HL
• Lee JK
• Um HS
• Chang BS

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study is to assess the influence exerted by the observer's dental specialization and compare patients' opinion with observers' opinion of the esthetics of maxillary single-tooth implants in the esthetic zone.
METHODS
Forty-one adult patients, who were treated with a single implant in the esthetic zone, were enrolled in this study. Eight observers (2 periodontists, 2 prosthodontists, 2 orthodontists and 2 senior dental students) applied the pink esthetic score (PES)/white esthetic score (WES) to 41 implant-supported single restorations twice with an interval of 4 weeks. We used a visual analog scale (VAS) to assess the patient's satisfaction with the treatment outcome from an esthetic point of view.
RESULTS
In the PES/WES, very good and moderate intraobserver agreements were noted between the first and second rating. The mean total PES/WES was 11.19 +/- 3.59. The mean PES was 5.17 +/- 2.29 and mean WES was 6.02 +/- 1.96. In the total PES/WES, the difference between the groups was not significant. However, in the WES, the difference between the groups was significant and prosthodontists were found to have assigned poorer ratings than the other groups. Periodontists gave higher ratings than prosthodontists and senior dental students. Orthodontists were clearly more critical than the other observers. The statistical analysis revealed statistically significant correlation between patients' esthetic perception and dentists' perception of the anterior tooth. However, the correlation between the total PES/WES and the VAS score for the first premolar was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS
The PES/WES is an objective tool in rating the esthetics of implant supported single crowns and adjacent soft tissues. Orthodontists were the most critical observers, while periodontists were more generous than other observers. The statistical analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation between patients' esthetic perception and dentists' perception of the anterior tooth.

Keyword

Dental esthetics; Patient satisfaction; Single-tooth dental implants

MeSH Terms

Adult
Bicuspid
Crowns
Dental Implants, Single-Tooth
Esthetics
Esthetics, Dental
Humans
Patient Satisfaction
Students, Dental
Tooth
Treatment Outcome

Figure

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  Figure 1 Distrubution of implant regions.

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  Figure 2 Correlation between the total pink esthetic score (PES)/white esthetic score (WES) and visual analog scale response for the anterior tooth.

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