Comparisons of mesiodistal and buccolingual crown dimensions of the permanent teeth in three populations from Egypt, Mexico, and the United States.

The purpose of this study is to examine the mesiodistal and buccolingual crown dimensions in three populations--57 subjects (35 boys and 22 girls) from Iowa City, Iowa; 54 subjects (30 boys and 24 girls) from Alexandria, Egypt; and 60 subjects (26 boys and 34 girls) from Chihuahua, Mexico. All subjects had normal Class I occlusion, with no history of orthodontic treatment. Comparisons of single teeth as well as sums of groups of teeth were performed between boys and girls within and between the two populations. The analysis of variance general linear models procedure was used for statistical comparisons. The findings from this investigation indicated that (1) differences between antimeres are of small magnitude and of no statistical significance; (2) all populations have significant differences in tooth dimensions between the sexes with boys having larger canines and first molars; (3) there is greater variation in the buccolingual than in the mesiodistal dimensions among the three populations; (4) there is a greater similarity in tooth dimensions among the boys from the three populations than among the girls, but the magnitude of these differences is considered to be of little clinical significance; and (5) standards for the buccolingual diameters were developed for the three populations. As a result, it was concluded that prediction equations used for space analysis in the mixed dentition to determine tooth size-arch length discrepancies in the Iowa population can also be used for persons from Egypt and from the northern part of the Mexican Republic, with some suggested modifications.