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Brief communication: Population variation in human maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR)
Scott E Burnett1, Diane E Hawkey, Christy G Turner
1Comparative Cultures Collegium, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL 33711, USA. burnetse@eckerd.edu
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|December 3, 2009
Summary
Maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR) show significant population differences. Northeast Asian populations have the highest frequency, while Indo-European groups show lower frequencies of these dental traits.
Area of Science:
- Dental anthropology
- Human population genetics
- Morphological variation
Background:
- Maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR) are common but understudied dental features.
- Understanding MxPAR variation is important for dental anthropology and population studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the frequency and variation of maxillary premolar accessory ridges (MxPAR) across diverse global populations.
- To introduce a new scoring system for MxPAR categorization.
- To integrate MxPAR analysis into the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System.
Main Methods:
- Development of a novel five-grade scoring plaque for MxPAR.
- Population analysis of 749 dental casts from various ethnic groups worldwide.
- Statistical comparison of MxPAR frequencies between populations.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in MxPAR frequency were observed among major geographic populations.
- Northeast Asian and Asian-derived populations displayed the highest MxPAR frequencies.
- Indo-European and other populations showed lower to intermediate MxPAR frequencies.
Conclusions:
- MxPAR frequency is a statistically significant differentiating trait between human populations.
- The new MxPAR scoring plaque enhances the study of dental morphological variation.
- MxPAR data inclusion in the ASU Dental Anthropology System aids research on underrepresented maxillary traits.
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