Association of Occlusal Plane with the Level of Retromolar Pad

The objective of this study was to determine the association of the occlusal plane with level of retromolar pad in dentate individuals. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the department of Prosthodontics, Armed Forces Institute Dentistry (AFID), Rawalpindi over a period of 6 months and included 60 subjects from either gender with intact dentition. Convenience sampling technique was employed. The results from this study showed that greatest number of the study participants had occlusal plane coinciding with either the middle 3rd i.e. 33.3% or the lower 3rd i.e. 35%. Only 11.7% of the patients had retromolar pad at the level of upper 3rd or the junction of upper and middle 3rd of the retromolar pad. No significant difference was found between the male and female gender as far as the location of the occlusal plane and its relationship with the retromolar pad was concerned. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that in most of the individuals the occlusal plane coincides with the lower part of the retromolar pad and this association is irrespective of the gender of the patients.