Assessment of Dental Arch Width in Individuals With Various Growth Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background
Dental arch width is a critical factor in orthodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, and maintaining long-term post-treatment stability. Skeletal growth patterns, such as hypodivergent, normodivergent, and hyperdivergent types, influence craniofacial form and the dimensions of the dental arches. Existing studies comparing these variations, particularly in South Indian populations, remain limited.
Objectives
This study aimed to measure and compare maxillary and mandibular arch widths among individuals with normodivergent, hypodivergent, and hyperdivergent patterns. The focus included changes in interpremolar, intermolar, premolar basal, and molar basal arch widths across these groups.
Materials and Methods
A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed on 90 orthodontic patients aged 16 to 30 years at RVS Dental College and Hospital. Pretreatment dental casts and lateral cephalometric radiographs were obtained from patient records used for routine diagnostics and treatment planning in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics.
All data were anonymized before analysis, and no direct patient interaction or clinical intervention occurred during the study.
Based on cephalometric indicators — FMA, SN-GoGn, and Y-axis — participants were categorized into three groups of 30: normodivergent, hypodivergent, and hyperdivergent.
Author’s Summary
This study evaluates the relationship between skeletal growth patterns and dental arch dimensions, highlighting key variations that influence orthodontic diagnosis and treatment outcomes.