1. Maxillary anterior teeth

The criteria for arrangement of maxillary anterior teeth are as follows:

a. Maxillary central incisors

1) The long axis of the tooth should be perpendicular to the horizontal plane (occlusal plane or the mandibular occlusion rim).

2) The contact point should coincide with the midline of the face.

3) The incisal edge should touch the mandibular occlusion rim.

4) The facial surface of the central incisors should be 5-9 mm anterior to the center of the incisive papilla.

b. Maxillary lateral incisors

1) The long axis should incline slightly distally.

2) The cervical portion of the tooth should incline slightly lingually.

3) The incisal edge of the lateral should be raised approximately 1 mm from the mandibular occlusion rim.

c. Maxillary canines

1) The incisal edge of the canine should touch the mandibular occlusion rim.

2) The long axis should be perpendicular to the occlusal plane. The cervical third of the labial portion of the canine should incline buccally to achieve some prominence.

3) The mesiolabial aspect of the canine should be visible when viewed from the anterior. This will be accomplished by tilting the neck of the canine slightly to the distal (in addition to being tilted to the buccal).

2. Mandibular anterior teeth

The incisal guide angle is the angle formed by a line drawn through the incisal edges of the maxillary and mandibular incisors in a horizontal plane. In complete denture treatment the person arranging the artificial teeth determines this angle. In denture fabrication the mandibular incisors should not touch the maxillary incisors in centric relation. The incisal guide angle should be kept as low as possible to allow free movement of the teeth in eccentric jaw movements without compromising denture stability.

a. Mandibular central incisors

1) The long axis of the mandibular central incisor should be set

perpendicular to the occlusal plane.

2) Set the mandibular central incisors so that the maxillary incisors cover them, 1 mm vertically and 1 mm horizontally (1 mm horizontal and vertical overlap) if you are using anatomic posterior teeth.

3) The contact point of mandibular incisors should coincide with the midline of the maxillary teeth.

b. Mandibular lateral incisors

1) The long axis of the mandibular incisor should be slightly inclined distally at the cervical portion of the tooth.

2) The occlusal height should be the same at the central incisors.

c. Mandibular canines

1) The long axis of the mandibular canine is nearly perpendicular to the occlusal plane with a slight distal inclination.

2) The tip of the canine should be at the same occlusal height as the mandibular central and lateral incisors.

Note: Long axis of the tooth is directed towards ridge crest.

Tooth is labial to the crest.

In some instances, such as when a large horizontal overlap (Class II) creates phonetic problems, a compromise position for the mandibular incisors may be necessary. The limit of compromise on a mandibular denture is the labial border. You will make the mandibular denture unstable if you arrange the mandibular incisors any further labially than the labial border.