Transverse dental compensation in relation tosagittal and transverse skeletal discrepancies in skeletal Class III patients.

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to compare the buccolingual inclinations of the posterior teeth in skeletal Class III patients with and without facial asymmetry with those of skeletal Class I patients and to investigate their relationships with sagittal and transverse skeletal discrepancies. Sixty-three skeletal Class III adult patients were divided into 2 groups according to the degree of menton deviation: a symmetry group with deviation less than 2mm (n=30), and an asymmetry group with deviation greater than 4mm (n=33). The control group comprised 25 skeletal Class I patients. The buccolingual inclinations of the posterior teeth measured on cone-beam computed tomography images were compared among the 3 groups, and regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the inclinations and the sagittal and transverse skeletal discrepancies. The symmetry group showedgreater buccal inclinations of the maxillary posterior teeth and lingual inclinations of the mandibular secondmolars than did the control, and this was correlated with the ANB angles. The deviated sides in the asymmetry group showed the greatest transverse dental compensation, which was correlated with menton deviation, whereas the nondeviated sides showed no significant transverse dental compensation. Transverse dental compensation is closely related to sagittal and transverse skeletal discrepancy in skeletal Class III patients.