title: Three-dimensional hard tissue palatal size and shape: a 10-year longitudinal evaluation in healthy adults.
abstract: A 10-year longitudinal evaluation of the morphology (size and shape) of hard tissue palate was performed in 6 female and 6 male healthy adults (mean age at the second evaluation was 33 years, SD = 2.2). All subjects had a complete permanent dentition, including the second molars, and were free from respiratory problems. Palatal landmarks were digitized with a computerized 3D instrument, and their coordinates were used to derive a mathematical model of palatal form. Palatal shape (size-independent) was assessed by a fourth-grade polynomial in the sagittal and frontal plane projections. Palatal dimensions in the frontal and sagittal planes were computed and compared between the 2 evaluations by paired Student t tests. A great variability was observed, and no significant modifications in size were found (P > .05 for all variables). No variations in shape were observed. Sex had no significant effect for any variable (Student t for independent samples, P > .05). This study showed that in healthy subjects, hard tissue palatal morphology does not seem to change between the third and the fourth decades of life.
authors.affiliation: Functional Anatomy Research Center (FARC), Dipartimento di Anatomia Umana, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. farc@unimi.it
authors.forename: Virgilio F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Ferrario
authors.forename: Chiarella
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sforza
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dellavia
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: Raffaella P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ferrari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001641:Bicuspid; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003481:Cuspid; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008963:Molar; D015588:Observer Variation; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic