Correlation Between Maxillary Canine Impaction and Facial Biotype.

Abstract

The etiology of teeth impaction is still not fully understood, despite that cofactors have been considered important to develop such a clinical picture. The aim of the authors' paper was to investigate about facial biotype, about the values of inclination of the upper cuspid axis to the perpendicular to Frankfort-horizontal plane and about the distance "d" of the canine cuspid to occlusal plane: each factor was statistically compared. The authors also performed a comparative analysis on the radicular length of the left and right lateral incisors of subjects with impacted maxillary canine. The authors recruited with "cluster sampling" randomization more than 30 patients, then refined to 25 after the application of exclusion criteria. Specific values were carried out by x-rays: the authors calculated both the α and β angles, the intermaxillary angle, the distance "d" and the inclination of upper cuspid axis to the perpendicular-to-Frankfort-horizontal plane. Spearman rank correlation coefficient or Spearman rho (ρ) was used as statistical methods. The authors' results assessed that the inclination of the upper cuspid axis to the perpendicular-to-Frankfort-horizontal plane showed a statistically significant inverse correlation with the intermaxillary angle. The authors' data clearly indicate that hyperdivergence is a key-factor that will certainly support the eruption path of canine cuspid: in this light, the treatment of tooth impaction in hyperdivergent subjects can be considered as predictive for a good prognosis.