The problem of excess gingival display is difficult to diagnose and treat. By studying one aspect of excess gingival display, namely the size relationships of the clinical crowns of teeth, we can begin to quantify reasonable goals of therapy. In this study, two hundred plaster models were used as subjects. These represented two hundred patients before and after orthodontic therapy. The six anterior teeth were measured for length and width and compared to known ideals. Teeth that did not meet ideal standards may require treatment. It was found that the mean tooth length after orthodontic therapy was approximately two millimeters shorter than ideal. The length of maxillary central incisors did not increase over the course of therapy. Eighty-five to ninety percent of maxillary central incisors exceeded allowable tooth width-to-length ratios. Twenty-nine to thirty percent of central incisors exceeded one hundred percent in their width-to-length ratio. Sixty-eight percent of patients displayed asymmetry in gingival architecture.

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