Prediction of the size of unerupted canines and premolars in a northern Manitoban Aboriginal population

Abstract

During the mixed dentition period, forecasting the size of the unerupted canines and premolars relative to the existing arch space available is an important diagnostic process. Typically, the mesiodistal dimensions of the unerupted canines and premolars have been extrapolated from measurements of the erupted permanent mandibular incisors using Moyers' prediction tables or calculated using Tanaka and Johnston's prediction equations. Both techniques were developed using a population of "probable" northern European ancestry. Evidence of racial tooth size variability, however, suggests that prediction techniques based on a single racial sample may not be considered universal. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a more accurate method could be obtained to predict the mesiodistal dimensions of unerupted canines and premolars in the northern Manitoban First Nations population. Using simple regression linear analyses, prediction equations for the combined mesiodistal dimensions of the of the maxillary and mandibular canine-premolar segments based on the combined mesiodistal dimension of the mandibular incisors were generated from 51 northern Manitoban First Nations subjects. The sample under study consisted of 24 males and 27 females ranging in age from 13.5 years to 17.25 years. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)