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Date of this Version

6-1986

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nebraska--Lincoln, 1986. Department of Dentistry.

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science, Department of Dentistry, Under the Supervision of Dr. Robert E. Sullivan. Lincoln, Nebraska: June 1986.

Copyright 1986, Randall S. Asher, D.D.S. Used by permission.

Abstract

Dental practitioners treating children are often faced with the question of when to initiate orthodontic treatment. Preventive and interceptive orthodontics encourage treatment of young patients to guide developing malocclusions into functional and aesthetic harmony. Success in early orthodontic treatment depends on accurate diagnosis. Dimensional growth of the arches anterior to the first permanent molar is essentially complete by the age of eight, years of age. 24 Therefore, two important factors in dentition alignment may be the arch length anterior to the first permanent molars and the mesiodistal crown diameter (MDCD) of the permanent teeth in the arch.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of MDCD's in both the permanent and primary dentitions, using a longitudinally collected series of dental casts, with the aim of improved diagnosis in early orthodontic techniques. Due to a lack of radiographs in 3 the study sample, only mathematical means of prediction will be considered. The hypotheses being tested in this project are: 1. there is no difference in MDCD between teeth of males and females, 2. no association exists between the MDCD of a primary tooth and the MDCD of its permanent successor, 3. there is no association between the MDCD arch length of the primary and the ensuing permanent dentition, 4. associations between the MDCD of groups of teeth in the permanent dentition are not influenced by the sex of the individual.

Advisor: Robert E. Sullivan.

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