Maximum mouth opening and its association with gender, age, height, weight, body mass index, and systemic disease in adult Saudi population: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim: To analyse determine the maximum mouth opening (MMO) among adult patients seeking dental care in university dental clinics in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia, and to find out the factors (gender, age, height, weight, body mass index [BMI]) and/or systemic disease associated with the MMO among the studied sample. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 391 adult patients aged over 21 years for a period of 2 months from February 2018 to April 2018. The MMO was measured by requesting the study participants to open his/her mouth maximally and then measuring inter-incisal length between upper and lower anterior teeth using Willis Bite Gauge. Descriptive statistics of frequency distribution, percentages, mean, and standard deviation values of MMO were calculated. Regression analysis was performed to identify predictor variables associated with the MMO. Results: Mean MMO and standard deviation of the sample was 46.15 mm and 8.49 mm. Male study subjects showed higher MMO of 48.35 ± 7.07 mm as compared with the female subjects’ MMO of 36.39 ± 7.35 mm. The MMO reduced with increasing age of the study subjects, and it showed significant differences across different age groups, gender, educational level, and health status. Weight and BMI showed significant differences with MMO. Presence of upper right and left third molars was also significantly related to MMO. Conclusion: In this study, reported MMO among the sample is lower than that reported in European and African population. Furthermore, MMO is affected by age, gender, educational level, weight, BMI, and presence of upper third molars in the sample.