RESUMO
PURPOSE: Dental arch length, width, and perimeter are considered to be important for the diagnosis and treatment of orthodontic cases. This study aimed to utilize dental arch width and length to create an equation for predicting dental arch perimeter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-seven pairs of study models for patients with normal occlusion who received dental treatment were included in this study. Dental arch width at the level of the canines, first premolars, and first molars, in addition to dental arch length and perimeter, were measured using a digital vernier with 0.01mm accuracy. Data were subjected to step-wise regression analysis to determine the major predictors of arch perimeters and develop regression equations for both arches. The predicted arch perimeters were compared with the actual measured values using paired sample t-test. RESULTS: For both arches, the perimeter showed a direct, moderate to strong, highly significant correlation with the length and width measurements. Findings from step-wise regression analysis indicated that there was a strong correlation between arch perimeter and the inter-canine width and arch length, which explained 67.7% of the variation in arch perimeter in the maxillary arch. In the mandibular arch, inter-molar width, inter-canine width, and arch length explained 55.1% of the variation in the dental arch perimeter. The arch perimeter values predicted from the developed equations were not significantly different from the actual values that were measured. CONCLUSION: New regression equations based on dental arch width and length at the level of the premolars, molars, and canines were developed to predict dental arch perimeters for both the mandibular and maxillary arches.