Mandibular incisor crowding is one of the most common features of malocclusion and is interesting characteristic in view of relapse and stability after orthodontic treatment. There are many potential factors in the etiology of lower anterior crowding. The tooth size variation is one of them, but biologic significance for the faciolingual width of the teeth has been overlooked. Peck and Peck reported that persons with ideal mandibular incisor alignment were shown to have incisor with smaller mesiodistal and larger faciolingual dimensions than persons with incisor crowding. On the basis of these findings they suggested MD/FL index as a clinical guideline for the assessment for lower incisor crowding. The present study was undertaken to examine the relationship between mandibular incisor crowding and mandibular incisor dimension, and determine their correlation with arch length discrepancy. 154 dental casts of people from 11 to 17 years of age were made, and were divided into normal group with irregularity index less than of 1, and crowding group with irregularity index greater than 1. The casts were measured and analyzed statistically. The results were as follows. 1. The mean mesiodistal width for mandibular incisor was larger in crowding group, and has significant difference in central incisor measurement. There are no significant differences in the faciolingul width and MD/FL index. 2. Irregularity index has significant correlation coefficients with mesiodistal width and MD/FL index for mandibular incisor in crowding group, but no correlation with faciolingual width. It also has correlation with maxillary and mandibular arch length discrepancy, total tooth material, mandibular intercanine width, and mandibular inter first premolar width. 3. Upper and lower arch length discrepancy have significant correlation with mesiodistal width of mandibular incisor and overbite, but have no correlation with faciolingual width. Lower arch length discrepancy has significant correlation with MD/FL index for mandibular incisor and upper arch length discrepancy has correlation with MD/FL index for mandibular lateral incisor. 4. Significant differences were observed between normal and crowding group for the mandibular arch length discrepancy and overbite.
Adolescent* ; Bicuspid ; Humans ; Incisor* ; Malocclusion ; Overbite ; Recurrence ; Tooth