Evaluation of esthetic criteria of single-unit PFM crowns fabricated in Isfahan Faculty of Dentistry in 2007

PFM crowns can restore esthetic and function to damaged teeth. In this research, the esthetic indexes of PFM crowns and overall patient satisfaction were evaluated. This study evaluated 41 patients with 45 PFM crowns in Isfahan Faculty of Dentistry, where the impressions had been taken and casts poured. Clinical crown length, crown width, faciolingual dimension of crown, contact point position and patients’ satisfaction were assessed. Finally the number and incidence rates of ideal and close-to-ideal crowns from esthetic viewpoint were determined. Data was analyzed by SPSS software and with paired t-test. (α = 0.05). The contact points of 24 crowns (53.3%) were similar to natural teeth. The shades of 41 crowns (91.1%) were similar to patients’ natural teeth. From the esthetic viewpoint 7 crowns (15.5%) were ideal and 11 (24.4%) were close-to-ideal. 95.1% of patients expressed complete satisfaction and 4.8% were partially satisfied with the esthetics of crowns. Compared to natural teeth, PFM crowns had longer clinical heights (0.005 mm) on average, with no statistically significant differences (p value = 0.966). The mesiodistal widths of crowns were on average 0.282 mm larger than those of similar natural teeth, demonstrating a statistically significant difference (p value = 0.01). In faciolingual dimension, the mean difference between crowns and similar natural teeth was 0.026 mm, which was not statistically significant. Considering the results, it is necessary that tooth preparation and the laboratory procedures be performed more accurately to fabricate crowns with better appearance and more similar to the natural teeth and to obtain patients’ full satisfaction.