| dc.description.abstract | OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there is a relationship between maxillary and mandibular jaw size, measured at the level of the apical basal bone, and dental crowding, measured as tooth-size-to-arch-length-discrepancy (TSALD).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 75 untreated Class I dental and skeletal adult patients were evaluated. Digital scans of dental casts were taken to measure maxillary and mandibular tooth size, dental arch perimeter, TSALD, intermolar width, and intercanine width. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were used to measure the overall basal cross-sectional area, 5 basal arch perimeters, and 5 basal arch widths of the maxilla and mandible. The maxillary apical base was measured in an axial plane at the level of the mesiobuccal root apex of the upper right first molar, parallel to the functional occlusal plane. The mandibular apical base was measured in an axial plane at the level of the superior border of the right mental foramen, also parallel to the functional occlusal plane. Due to the number of apical base variables, principal components factor analysis was performed to create multivariate factors, to more efficiently evaluate the associations.
RESULTS: The dental arch measures and maxillary apical base dimensions show that males are significantly larger than females. There are only limited sex differences in mandibular apical base dimensions. Maxillary and mandibular apical base dimensions are related. The dental arch measurements showed significant relationships with TSALD. No relationship was found between the size of the mandibular apical base and upper or lower TSALD. Low to moderate correlations were found between the size of the maxillary apical base and TSALD. Tooth size showed little to no relationship to TSALD.
CONCLUSIONS: While the size of the maxillary apical base is related to maxillary or mandibular crowding, the size of the mandibular apical base is not. | en |
