Prediction of unerupted canines and premolars in a Syrian sample

BACKGROUND The current study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the methods of Moyers and of Tanaka and Johnston to estimate the mesiodistal widths of permanent canines and premolars in Syrian individuals, to determine whether the predicting equations differ by sex, and to develop more accurate regression equations using various teeth groups as predictors. METHODS A total of 670 pretreatment pairs of casts belonging to 342 female patients and 328 male patients were selected from the archives of orthodontic clinics in Damascus University and Al-Baath University. All relevant teeth were measured to the nearest 0.01 mm. Paired t tests were used to test the applicability of the Moyers method and the Tanaka and Johnson equation on Syrian individuals. New regression equations were constructed. RESULTS The predicted values of permanent canines and premolars derived from Moyers' charts at the 50th percentile levels tended to underestimate the actual values for the male subjects but were comparable to the actual values for the female subjects. However, the predicted values derived at the 75th percentile levels tended to be comparable to the actual values for the male subjects and to overestimate the actual values for the female subjects. The predicted values calculated by Tanaka and Johnston's equations tended to overestimate the actual values in both study groups. CONCLUSIONS The Moyers method was more accurate for the mixed dentition analysis for Syrian individuals. However, the proper percentile level is determined by sex. The use of the equations constructed using the Syrian sample is advised.