A jig for measuring incisor inclination.

The aim of this study was to design and construct a jig for measuring the inclination of the upper incisors to the maxillary plane and of the lower incisors to the mandibular plane. After several prototypes had been tested, the required properties for a successful jig were identified and a simple inexpensive device was produced. Measurements obtained when using the jig on 51 subjects were compared with cephalometric values by means of regression analysis. This revealed that measurements obtained using the jig against the upper and then the lower incisor crowns could be converted to cephalometric incisor angulations with 96 per cent accuracy to 10 degrees, by adding 23 and 3 degrees, respectively. The jig was accurate to 5 degrees on 69 per cent of occasions for the upper teeth. The 5 degrees accuracy with the lower incisors was only 27 per cent, although over a 6 degree range it improved to 78 per cent. For upper and lower tooth measurements combined, the jig was accurate to within 6 degrees on 75 per cent of occasions.