The majority of cases showed that horizontal and vertical measurements of the face cannot be used as a reference for determining the morphology of the maxillary central incisor crown. It is relevant to analyze and compare other morphological structures to improve the oral health-related quality of life for the conventional denture wearer.
Background
Given the benefits of radiographic cephalometric studies in determining patterns of dental-skeletal-facial normality in orthodontics, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between mandibular dental arch shape and cross-sectional and vertical facial measurements.
Materials and methods
It was analyzed plaster casts and teleradiographs in frontal and lateral norm belonging to 50 individuals, aged between 15 and 19 years, with no previous history of orthodontic treatment and falling into four of the six Andrews's occlusion keys. The plaster models were scanned (3D) and the images of the dental arches were classified subjectively as oval, triangular and quadrangular by three calibrated examiners, with moderate inter-examiner agreement (Kappa = 0.50). After evaluation of the method error by paired t test (p > 0.05), it was carried out the analysis of cross-sectional and vertical facial measurements to be compared to the shape of the dental arch. Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance with a significance level of 5%.
Results
When the VERT index was compared with the three arch shapes, no measurement showed statistically significant differences (p > 0.05): triangular (0.54); oval (0.43); and quadrangular (0.73); as well as there were no differences (p > 0.05) in the widths of the face (141.20; 141.26; 143.27); maxilla (77.27; 77.57; 78.59) and mandible (105.13; 103.96; 104.28).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that there was no correlation between different shapes of the mandibular dental arch and the cross-sectional and vertical facial measurements investigated.
How to cite this article
El Haje OA, Pompeo DD, Furtado GC, Rivera LML, Paranhos LR. Is It Possible to use Cross-sectional and Vertical Facial Measurements to establish the Shape of the Mandibular Arch? J Contemp Dent Pract 2014;15(6):735-739.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.