| dc.description.abstract | Background: Edentulism is a worldwide condition that necessitates oral rehabilitation of
the edentulous patient through fabrication of conventional complete dentures, implant
supported removable complete dentures or implant retained bridges. A natural
appearance of complete dentures is partly achieved through selection of appropriate
moulds of artificial anterior teeth. Absence of pre-extraction records can, however, make
the process of anterior tooth selection challenging for clinicians leading to patients being
dissatisfied with the prostheses. Although a number of studies have investigated the use
of facial measurements as a method of calculating anterior tooth widths, the results have
been contradictory. Furthermore, there is also the paucity of data regarding the use of
facial measurements for anterior tooth selection among African populations.
Objective: To evaluate the reliability of the nasal and inner canthal widths in estimating
the mesio-distal widths of the maxillary anterior teeth in a Kenyan population.
Study design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study
Material and Method: One hundred and forty six undergraduate and postgraduate
students aged 18-30 years from the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Medicine and Dental
Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi were recruited into the study.
The students were selected through stratified random sampling. Data on nasal and inner
canthal width were obtained through direct measurements while that of mesio-distal
widths of the maxillary anterior teeth were obtained from type IV gypsum product casts
(Ultra rock,Kalabhai,Karson Pvt Ltd,Mumbai,India) generated from irreversible
hydrocolloid impressions of the maxillary arch (Al
which were then entered onto a data capturing form. The data obtained were analyzed
using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 13.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ilinois,
USA).
Results: Out of the 146 participants, 78 (53.4%) were males while 68 (46.6%) were
females. The mean age was 22.35 ± 2.65 years. The overall mean nasal width was 39.54
± 3.61mm with males having had significantly higher mean values compared to females
(41.37 ± 3.04mm and 37.45 ± 3.05mm respectively), (t=7.75, p<0.05). The overall mean
inner canthal width was 34.27 ± 2.68mm with the mean inner canthal width for males
(34.73 ± 2.69mm) having been higher than that of the females (33.74 ± 2.58mm),
(t=2.27, p<0.05). The mean of the combined mesio-distal width of the anterior teeth
(CMDWAT) was 47.68 ± 2.55mm with males having had significantly higher mean
values (48.12 ± 2.49mm) compared to the females (47.16 ± 2.55mm), (t=2.30, p<0.05). A
statistically significant weak positive correlation was found between the nasal width,
inner canthal width and CMDWAT (r=0.26, r2=0.07, p<0.05 and r=0.17, r2=0.03, p<0.05
respectively).
Conclusion: For the population studied, the nasal width could be used to estimate the
mesio-distal width of the maxillary anterior teeth in 7% of the population while the inner
canthal width could be used in 3% of the population. Therefore, for the population
studied, the two facial measurements cannot be used as reliable guides in estimating the
mesio-distal widths of the maxillary anterior teeth
records in order to ease anterior tooth selection during complete denture fabrication.
Further research also needs to be carried out in a larger sample of the population so as to
allow for more reliable extrapolation of the results to the general population | en_US |
| dc.description.department | a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya | |
