Primary Molar Crown Dimensions in a Sample of Kenyan Children of African Descent and Their Comparison to 3m ESPE Stainless Steel Crowns

Abstract

Tooth measurement is important in clinical dentistry. Tooth size is one of the factors that affect the development of occlusion. The relationship between the size of the dental arches and the size of teeth also directly influences the presence of spacing or crowding of teeth. The importance of retaining carious primary molars in the oral cavity until their natural exfoliation has led to the innovation of many restorative materials and techniques for their restoration and preservation, for instance, the use of stainless steel crowns (SSCs). The mesiodistal and buccolingual tooth crown diameters are important tooth parameters that are considered during the selection of stainless steel crowns. There is limited information on the mesiodistal and buccolingual primary molar crown dimensions in the Kenyan population. Such data is important for restorative and orthodontic purposes as well as for forming a baseline for future studies on related odontometric studies. Study objective This study sought to investigate the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of primary molars in a sample of Kenyan children of African descent and compared these dimensions to those of 3M ESPE brand of stainless steel crowns. Materials and methods Study design This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on a sample of Kenyan children of African descent and 3M ESPE brand of stainless steel crowns. Study population The study participants were pre-school and primary school children aged 5–9 years attending a selected public primary school in Nairobi County...