Maxillary and mandibular arch forms in the primary dentition stage

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Craniofacial Morphology
• Dental Arch Analysis

Background:

• Understanding primary dentition arch forms is crucial for predicting future dental development and orthodontic needs.
• Limited data exists on the prevalence of specific maxillary and mandibular arch forms and sizes in preschool children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the most frequent maxillary and mandibular arch forms and sizes during the primary dentition stage.
• To analyze gender-based differences in primary dental arch dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Digitization of dental casts from 435 children aged 3.5-5.5 years.
• Identification of ten landmark points on each dental arch.
• Utilizing computer software to plot coordinates and determine polynomial functions for arch form analysis.

Main Results:

• Oval (52%) was the predominant arch form overall, with oval prevalent in the maxilla (58.4%) and square in the mandible (46.7%).
• Medium arch size was most common (77% overall), with small arch size more frequent in females.
• Males exhibited significantly larger intercanine and intermolar widths than females; tapered arches had smaller intercanine width.

Conclusions:

• The prevalent primary arch forms are medium-sized oval (maxilla) and square (mandible).
• Tapered arch forms are associated with the smallest intercanine width.
• Gender significantly influences intercanine and intermolar widths in primary dentition.