Maxillary molar and premolar indices in North Indians: A Dimorphic Study

Abstract

Tooth morphometry is known to be influenced by cultural, environmental and racial factors. Tooth size standards can be used in age and sex determination. One hundred models (50 males & 50 females) of normal occlusion were evaluated and significant correlations (p<0.001) were found to exist between the combined maxillary incisor widths and the maxillary intermolar and interpremolar arch widths. The study establishes the morphometric criterion for premolar and molar indices and quantifies the existence of a statistically significant sexual dimorphism in arch widths (p<0.02). INTRODUCTION Teeth are an excellent material in living and non-living populations for anthropological, genetic, odontologic and forensic investigations 1 .Their morphometry is known to be influenced by cultural, environmental and racial factors. The variations in tooth form are a common occurrence & these can be studied by measurements. Out of the two proportionswidth and length, the former is considered to be more important 2 . Tooth size standards can be used in age and sex determination 3 . Whenever it is possible to predict the sex, identification is simplified because then only missing persons of one sex need to be considered. In this sense identification of sex takes precedence over age 4 . Various features like tooth morphology and crown size are characteristic for males and females 5 .The present study on the maxillary arch takes into account the premolar arch width, molar arch width and the combined width of the maxillary central incisors in both the sexes. Pont's established constant ratio's between tooth sizes and arch widths in French population which came to be known as premolar and molar indices 6 .In the ideal dental arch he concluded that the ratio of combined incisor width to transverse arch width was .80 in the premolar area and .64 in the molar area. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the clinical use of premolar and molar indices for establishing dental arch development objectives 7 . The present study was conducted to ascertain whether or not Pont's Index can be used reliably on north Indians and to establish the norms for the same. MATERIAL AND METHODS SELECTION CRITERIA One hundred subjects, fifty males and fifty females in the age group of 17-21 years were selected for the study as attrition is considered to be minimal for this age group. The study was conducted on the students of Sudha Rustagi College of Dental Sciences & Research, Faridabad, Haryana. INCLUSION CRITERIA Healthy state of gingival and peridontium.