A comparative study of arch widths of white Brazilians with normal occlusion and Class II, Division 1, malocclusion

Roberto REJMAN, Décio Rodrigues MARTINS, Helio SCAVONE JR., Flávio Augusto COTRIM-FERREIRA, Flávio VELLINI-FERREIRA

Aim: to evaluate possible differences of the upper and lower dental arches widths among youths with normal occlusion and Class II, division 1, malocclusion. Methods: the evaluation was conducted on 170 pairs of dental casts of white Brazilian youths, with permanent dentition, 76 with normal occlusion (41 females and 35 males) at the mean age of 13 years and 6 months and 94 with Class II, division 1, malocclusion (58 females and 36 males) at the mean age of 13 years and 9 months. The group with malocclusion was divided into two categories: Class II without dental crowding and Class II with dental crowding. A comparison was made between the intercanine, inter first premolar and intermolar widths of both dental arches. Results: with regard to normal occlusion group and statistically significant differences, male subjects presented: 1) larger intercanine lower width in the group with Class II without crowding; 2) smaller upper inter first premolar width in the group with Class II without crowding and 3) smaller upper and lower inter first premolar and intermolar widths in the group with Class II with crowding. In turn, the females have revealed: 1) smaller upper inter first premolar and intermolar widths in the group with Class II without crowding and 2) smaller upper and lower inter first premolar and intermolar widths in the group with Class II with crowding. Conclusion: generally, the subjects with Class II, Division 1 malocclusion have presented a tendency to a posterior deficiency of dental arches widths, especially in the group with crowding.

Keywords: Malocclusion. Width dimensions. Dental occlusion. Orthodontics.

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