Tooth size discrepancies in female patients with palatally impacted canines.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Small upper lateral incisors in patients with palatally impacted canines may contribute to inter-arch tooth size discrepancies. AIM: To compare the Bolton ratios in female patients with and without unilateral palatally impacted canines. METHODS: The pretreatment dental casts of 30 female patients with unilateral palatally impacted canines (Impaction group) and 30 female patients without palatally impacted canines (Control group) were used. The latter were matched for age and incisor malocclusion with the Impaction group. The anterior and overall Bolton ratios were calculated for each group. RESULTS: Although the total width of the upper anterior teeth in the impaction group was significantly smaller than the total width of the upper anterior teeth in the Control group (p = 0.029), there was no significant difference between the mesio-distal widths of the lower anterior teeth in the two groups. Furthermore, there were no significant group differences in either the mean anterior Bolton ratio (p = 0.156) or the overall Bolton ratio (p = 0.652). CONCLUSION: Females patients with palatally impacted canines may not have more inter-arch tooth size discrepancies than female patients without palatally impacted canines.