CONTEMPORARY DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF DENTITION OF HISPANICS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS IN PHILADELPHIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate if contemporary tooth measurements in the Greater Philadelphia area differ from those of a historical sample, from the Michigan Growth Study “Standards of Human Occlusal Development”, that are used in diagnosis and treatment planning. The objective is to compare mesiodistal and buccolingual dental measurements from contemporary Hispanic American and African American patients to a previously determined historic population of Caucasians. Methods: Intraoral scans of 20 Hispanic (12F, 8M) and 38 African American (28F, 10M) patients screened for orthodontic treatment were measured using Amira® morphometric software. The mesiodistal & buccolingual tooth crown diameters of greatest distance were measured for all permanent teeth excluding second and third molars. Results: Overall, the Philadelphia population had significantly larger tooth sizes when compared to the historic population. Further examination reveals males have larger teeth than females, and contemporary African Americans have larger teeth than contemporary Hispanic Americans, who in turn have larger teeth that historic Caucasians. Conclusions: Differences in tooth sizes exist between contemporary Hispanic and African Americans from a historical sample of Caucasian gathered over 50 years ago. Past standards attained from Caucasian subjects such as mixed dentition prediction equations & Bolton discrepancies may not apply to all patients treated at Temple University’s Dental School.