Determination of mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth using inner canthal distance

BACKGROUND

Selection of appropriately sized maxillary anterior teeth is one of the important aspects of complete denture prosthodontics. In the past several methods have been proposed, but little consensus on an effective method for anterior teeth selection has been reached. Inner canthal distance is one of the reliable anatomic dimension that may provide a valid approach to anterior teeth selection. This study was aimed to ascertain the co-relation between inner canthal distance (ICD) and combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth.

METHOD

This study was conducted in Army Dental Centre (R & R) Delhi Cantonment between Aug 2006 to Mar 2008. Eight hundred dentate Indian subjects of four different ethnic group; Such as Rajputs, Marathas, Sikh and Tamilian. 100 males and 100 females from each race under the age group of 18-30 years formed the subjects of study. The ICD and mesio-distal width of maxillary anteriors were measured using Digital Vernier Caliper. The Data obtained was statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

A consistent ratio of 1.61 was found between ICD and combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anteriors in all four ethnic group. The mean value showed no statistically significant difference between sex. The variation in the ratio between the ethnic groups was negligible.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the study indicated that, to select the combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth, ICD of the required patient should be multiplied by 1.61. This ratio was consistent with all the four ethnic groups irrespective of sex.

Reliability of different facial measurements for determination of vertical dimension of occlusion in edentulous using accepted facial dimensions recorded from dentulous subjects

The study was undertaken to evaluate the reliability of different facial measurements for determination of vertical dimension of occlusion in edentulous subjects using accepted facial dimensions recorded from dentulous subjects. The hypothesis was that facial measurements can be used to obtain the vertical dimension of occlusion for edentulous patients where no pre-extraction records exist. A total of 180 subjects were selected in the age groups of 50-60 years, consisting of 75 dentate male and 75 dentate female subjects for whom different facial measurements were recorded including vertical dimension of occlusion and rest, and 15 edentulous male and 15 edentulous female subjects for whom all the facial measurements were recorded including the vertical dimension of rest and occlusion following construction of upper and lower complete dentures. The left outer canthus of eye to angle of mouth distance and the right Ear-Eye distance were found to be as valuable adjuncts in the determination of occlusal vertical dimension. The Glabella-Subnasion distance, the Pupil-Stomion distance, the Pupil-Rima Oris distance and the distance between the two Angles of the Mouth did not have a significant role in the determination of the occlusal vertical dimension. The vertical dimension can be determined with reasonable accuracy by utilizing other facial measurements for patients for whom no pre-extraction records exist.