Dental arch shape in twins: A morphometric study of genetic influences

The objective of this study was to assess the relative contribution of genes to shape variation in the permanent dental arches in individuals of Western European descent.

The dental casts from 64 monozygotic and 38 dizygotic twins, housed in the Adelaide Dental School's twin record collection, Australia, were assessed. The subjects were of Western European descent, with a mean age of 19.4 ± 5.4 years. Dental casts were scanned using a 3-dimensional scanner (3Shape E4, 3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark), and landmarks were placed on incisal edges and cusp tips of canines, premolars, and molars. Procrustes superimposition and principal components analysis were applied to examine shape variation. Two-block partial least-squares analysis was used to assess shape covariation between arches. Structural equation modeling was utilized to decompose observed shape variation into genetic and environmental components using the normal assumptions of the twin model.

The first 3 principal components (PCs) of the maxillary and mandibular arch were meaningful, accounting for 53% and 50% of the variation in shape space, respectively. The PCs represented shape variability as follows: PC1 - arch depth-width ratio, PC2 - arch taper, canine position (and first premolar rotation for the mandibular arch), and PC3 - incisor displacement and rotation. Genetic modeling indicated that a model incorporating additive genetic and unique environmental factors optimally explained the observed variation for all meaningful PCs. Within shape space, most of the variation in maxillary and mandibular arches exhibited moderate to high heritability (h² = 0.61-0.74). Maxillary and mandibular dental arches had strong and significant shape covariation, with high heritability in their reciprocal influences on shape (h² = 0.72-0.74; r_pls coefficient = 0.87; P <0.05).

In this cohort, dental arch shape variation was predominantly influenced by genetic factors. High covariation and heritability were observed between the maxillary and mandibular dental arches. This information may help inform decisions around orthodontic intervention.