Changes in Dental Arch Dimensions Expressed on the Basis of Tooth Eruption as a Measure of Biologic Age

Abstract
From longitudinal series of dental casts, obtained annually between 3-5 and 16-18 yrs. of age, only those with normal tooth alignment, parabolic arch shape and full complement of permanent teeth were selected. In 78 maxillary and 70 mandibular dentitions of the normal group, complemented by incomplete series of 48 children including only the incisor transition increments in arch dimensions were triggered by the appearance of permanent teeth. Differences in dental maturation among children at the same chronologic age, resulted in a leveling of the growth curves in comparison to those obtained from physiologic age. The pattern and amounts of change in inter-canine and incisor-distal bicuspid arch dimensions were the same for males and females, in maxilla and mandible, respectively.