Pont's Index Is Not Exact Science: A Reappraisal

Background: Pont's Index was established to predict maxillary dental arch width from the sum of the mesiodistal diameters of the four maxillary incisors (interincisal width) of the French population. However, the use of Pont's Index in predicting ideal arch shape in orthodontics has been controversial due to racial differences. Pont suggested that the reliability of this Index be tested in other populations. Another objection to Pont's Index is that it doesn't take into account the subjects' craniofacial framework. Materials and Methods: This reappraisal reviews literatures on Pont's Index, with an emphasis on the application of the Pont's Index in various ethnic groups, especially non-Caucasians. Sixteen articles included in this study were identified by a literature search of Medline (1944 Dec 2009) using predetermined key words, inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The majority of the papers (75%) disagreed that Pont's index can be used to predict maxillary arch width. Out of the papers that disagreed, 50% of the papers reported Pont's index overestimates the maxillary arch width and 42% of the papers reported Pont's index underestimates the maxillary arch width. There is a lack of studies that correlate the craniofacial framework to the Pont's Index. Conclusion: Most predictions based on Pont's Index either underestimated or overestimated the inter-premolar and intermolar widths.