Relationship between cephalic index, facial index and dental arch widths among young Nepalese adults

BACKGROUND: For a face to be aesthetically pleasant, it has to be well proportioned in all the three spatial planes. In addition to sagittal and vertical dimensions, transverse width of the face too needs to be addressed to ensure proper esthetics. Malocclusion in transverse dimension may not be limited to the dental arches but, it can also be associated with underlying skeletal abnormalities. So, this study aims to investigate the relation between dental arch widths, cephalic and facial indices. METHODS: The present study was a cross-sectional, descriptive study carried out in one hundred and thirty-two students meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the Department of Orthodontics, BPKIHS, Nepal. Cranial and facial measurements were performed under natural light. Dental arch widths were measured on study models obtained from the students. The data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 16. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for each variable. Correlation between the variables were determined with Pearson's correlation test with Statistical significance set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Mean age of the students was 22.14 ± 3.81 years, mean cephalic index (CI) and facial index (FI) were 82.93 ± 7.72 and 90.89 ± 7.75 respectively. Brachycephalic head form (65.2%) and leptoprosopic facial form (49.2%) were more prevalent. A significant, weak negative correlation was found between CI and FI. No significant correlation was seen between CI and dental arch widths, but significant and weak negative correlation was found between FI and upper intercanine and upper intermolar width. CONCLUSIONS: The facial index significantly correlates with the upper intercanine and intermolar widths. No correlation was seen between the facial index and lower dental arch width, between cephalic index and dental arch widths.