Dental arch changes from adolescence to adulthood in a spanish population: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Given the controversy in the literature about the variations in intercanine and intermolar distancesand arch perimeter once the eruption of permanent teeth is completed, the aims of this study were to assess thechanges of these measures with age, analyzing its sexual dimorphism and variability in a Spanish population.Study Design: 188 Spanish individuals distributed in three age groups were selected 63 adolescents (mean age14.15 years), 62 young adults (mean age 21.9 years) and 63 adults (mean age 40 years). The intercanine and intermolardistances and arch perimeter were measured in each dental cast from each individual of the sample using adigital method. The results were compared between sex and age groups, the sexual dimorphism percentage (%) ofeach measure and its variability coefficient (VC%) were calculated.Results: The results depend on sex and age and, therefore, these two factors will be analyzed jointly for each ofthem with the variation coefficient of the measurement. Intercanine and intermolar distances and arch perimeterwere greater in men than in women, especially in the young adult and adult groups.Conclusions: The intercanine distance and arch perimeter tended to decrease with age particularly in the femalesex, whilst the intermolar distance didn’t undergo significant changes. The intercanine distance is the dimensionthat presented the greatest variability, whereas the intermolar distance presented the least. The changes occur inthe transition from adolescence (14 years of age) to adulthood (22 years of age) and the subsequent alterations arenot relevant (AU)