Extraction vs nonextraction: arch widths and smile esthetics

Dental casts of 30 patients treated with extraction and 30 patients without extraction of four first premolars were randomly selected to determine changes in arch width as a result of treatment. Arch widths were measured from the cusp tips of the canines, premolars, and molars. Posttreatment arch widths were also measured in the midline at a constant arch depth from the most labial surfaces of the incisors. Standardized frontal photographs of the face taken during smiling of 12 extraction- and 12 nonextraction-treated subjects were evaluated. Fifty laypersons judged the esthetics of the smiles. Intercanine width increased less than one mm in both groups, and there was no difference between the two groups. The interpremolar and intermolar distance in both arches decreased significantly from 0.53 to 0.95 mm in the extraction sample, whereas the interpremolar and intermolar widths increased significantly from 0.81 to 2.10 mm in the nonextraction sample. When arch widths of both groups were measured from the most labial surfaces of the teeth at a constant depth, the average arch width of both arches was significantly wider in the extraction sample (1.8 mm wider in the mandible and 1.7 mm wider in the maxilla). The mean esthetic score and the number of teeth displayed during a smile did not differ between the groups. The results indicate that arch width is not decreased at a constant arch depth because of extraction treatment, and smile esthetics are the same in both groups of patients.