THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE AND DENTAL AESTHETICS

The Golden Rectangle of the central incisors In its simplest form we can recognise the Golden Proportion as the division of a straight line into a larger and a smaller part with the Golden Proportion gauge as in the figure below. In a Golden Proportion rectangle however the smaller part is at right angles to the larger part as shown below A frequent example of this is the ubiquitous plastic credit and telephone card all golden proportion rectangles. We dentists find the proportions of the central incisor very beautiful, but we have not been able to find a Golden Proportion relationship between the obvious width and height. The problem was recently solved when Dr Stephen Marquardt, an eminent Oral surgeon in California, discovered that, " The HEIGHT of the central incisor is in the Golden Proportion to the WIDTH of the TWO central incisors." as below. The rectangle is determined by using the Golden Proportion gauge to measure the width of the two incisors and then to use the gauge to check the height, (there will soon be a grid available to do this easily, or the dimensions can be measured). This revelation has offered solutions to a host of dental aesthetic problems. The Golden Proportion shows us a way of confirming the widths of the incisors by measuring their heights. It is a formula for evaluating the horizontal against the vertical. Testing the phenomenon on photographs of attractive teeth shows a very close compliance between the theoretical and the practical. The gingival prostheses of Fig A, before and Fig B after, not only covers the unsightly exposed roots but also brings the gingival level down to establish a Golden Rectangle on the central incisors with thanks to Detax for use of their photograph below GINGAVAMOL artificial gingiva. Fig A Before Fig B After It is very helpful to use the gauge to check the rectangle and then confirm with the grids. If both methods give the same indication you can be certain that the aesthetic result will be very satisfactory. The Golden Proportion grids show the inter-tooth relationship between the 8 teeth of the anterior aesthetic segment whereas the rectangle confirms the width of the incisors, related to their height. In the situation where it is necessary to close gabs between teeth with crowns, the combination of grid and rectangle will mutually confirm the aesthetic solution with a certainty that it will look attractive and natural. These grids are complementary to the Golden Proportion rectangle. The combination of the two gives a powerful tool to confidently determine good aesthetics.