A differential environmental effect on human anterior tooth size.
Factor-analytic studies of human tooth size routinely exhibit separate factors for the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of anterior teeth but a single factor each for premolar and molar size. This observed independence within the anterior field is shown to be attributable to a much larger effect of environmental factors on the buccolingual vs. the mesiodistal diameters, a significant cause of which may be calculus accumulation hitherto unrecognized in the relevant literature. The heritability of dental dimensions is also discussed.
D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000503:physiopathology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008542:Melanesia; D009811:Odontometry; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014071:Tooth Abnormalities / Q000235:genetics