Relationship of dental crowding to tooth size and arch width / 대한치과교정학회지

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of dental crowding to tooth size and arch dimension in Korean subjects. Two groups of dental casts with Class I molar relationship, were selected on the basis of crowding. One group, consisting of 82 pairs of study cast (29 males and 53 females), exhibited at least 7 millimeters of crowding in each arch. A second group, consisting of 82 sets of study cast (37 males and 45 females), exhibited normal occlusion with little or no crowding. Mesiodistal tooth diameters, and buccal and lingual dental arch widths were measured and compared between the crowding and normal occlusion groups. Significant differences were observed between the two groups not only in arch widths but also in tooth sizes. The results of the present study suggest that both etraction and expansion can be used as a treatment approach for the crowding cases.