Modified Pont's index for a Nigerian population

Abstract

Objective: Pont's index is a tool that is of great value in clinical orthodontic treatment planning especially in ethnic and racial groups where its applicability in predicting arch width (interpremolar and intermolar) is excellent. Thus, in ethnicities and races where its use has not been beneficial, a modification of the index in such populations might be necessary. Materials and methods: Samples of 132 consenting and consecutive patients’ dental casts with normal occlusion (well aligned arches) who had not previously received any form of arch alignment treatment were assessed using a digital sharpened beaks callipers' which measured the cast tooth sizes and arch width. All data was entered into a spread sheet and analysis was done with SPSS version 19 computer software. The level of confidence was set at p < 0.05. Result: The mean mesiodistal width of the right central incisor was found to be 8.76 ± 0.61mm and 8.73 ± 0.59mm on the left. Mesiodistal width of right lateral incisor was 7.10 ± 0.55mm while that of the left was 7.04 ± 0.58mm. Mean maxillary arch widths observed for the studied population were 41.87 ± 2.70mm and 51.47 ± 2.69mm for inter-premolar width and inter-molar width respectively. Pont's ratio for inter premolar and inter molar widths was 0.76 and 0.61 respectively. Conclusion: Pont's ratio for inter premolar and inter molar (0.80 and 0.64) is different from that gotten for the present population studied. With a modified index for this population; maxillary inter premolar and inter molar ratio equals 0.76 and 0.61 respectively.