Relationship between the curve of Spee and dentofacial morphology evaluated with a 3-dimensional reconstruction method in Korean adults.
BACKGROUND
The purposes of this study were to examine the curve of Spee of the maxillary and mandibular arches by using a 3-dimensional reconstruction method and to determine the relationship between the curve of Spee and dentofacial morphology with multiple regression analysis.


METHODS
Lateral cephalograms and dental models were evaluated from 18 Korean men and 31 Korean women. The depth of the curve of Spee was measured on the virtual dental models with computer software. Seventeen cephalometric variables related to the lateral cephalograms were analyzed to determine differences in dentofacial morphology. The Pearson correlation analysis and a multiple linear regression analysis were performed to determine the relationship between the curve of Spee as the dependent variable and other cephalometric and dental variables as the independent variables.


RESULTS
The depth of the curve of Spee in the mandibular arch was significantly related to overbite, overjet, and the sagittal position of the mandible with respect to the anterior cranial base. The curve of Spee was not affected by sex.


CONCLUSIONS
These results will assist in the determination of the sagittal organization of the teeth as a reference for prosthetic restoration and orthodontic treatment.
Cheon
Se-Hwan
SH
Department of Oral Anatomy and Dental Research Institute, College of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Park
Yang-Ho
YH
Paik
Ki-Suk
KS
Ahn
Sug-Joon
SJ
Hayashi
Kazuo
K
Yi
Won-Jin
WJ
Lee
Seung-Pyo
SP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002508:Cephalometry; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D003765:Models, Dental; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric