Evaluación de la variabilidad de la dimensión vertical de oclusión en niños y adolescentes.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The correct reproduction of the vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) is the basis for restoring health to the stomatognathic system. A number of methods allow facial measurement in a safe, reproducible manner, such as the comparison of distance from the lip commissure to corner of the eye (LC-CE) to the distance from the base of the nose to the chin (N-Ch). The aim of the present study was to determine VDO length in children between 7 and 12 years of age and the correlation of this length with gender. One hundred seventy-six children were evaluated, among which 48 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data were stratified by age and analyzed using the paired Student’s t-test. All p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. There were different measures of VDO with regard to age and gender, ranging from 52.30 mm to 70.20 mm for the LC-CE distance and 52.30 mm to 70.60 mm for the N-Ch distance in the girls. There was no statistically significant difference between these distances in the ages of 10 and 12 years for males and that the correlation between LC-EC and N-Ch was not significant for females. For women, there was a correlation between LC-EC and N-Ch, considering the significance level of 5%. There was conclude that it is necessary to measure the correct VDO and standard measures for reproduction of this measure, while the differentiation by age and gender, since the change in VDO can lead the patient to occlusal changes, muscle and joint pain, beyond the predisposition to malocclusion.