Incisal Embrasures and Contact Areas

The incisal embrasure is the triangle formed between the edges of two adjacent front teeth. The incisal embrasures should display a natural, progressive increase in size or depth from the central incisor to the canine. This is a function of the natural anatomy of the front teeth and as a result, the contact point moves further toward the gums as we proceed from the central to the canine. This actually is a mimic of the smile line, as we discussed in that topic. Failure to provide adequate depth and variation to the incisal embrasures will:

1. make teeth appear too uniform
2. make contact areas too long and will impart to the teeth a box-like appearance. The individuality of the incisors will be lost if their incisal embrasures are not properly developed.

Also, if the incisal embrasures are too deep it will tend to make the teeth look unnaturally pointed.