Abstract
Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate the dental and skeletal parameters which might be associated with mandibular anterior crowding in the early mixed dentition and to determine if these parameters of patients with and without crowding differ. Materials and Methods: Study models and lateral cephalometric radiographs of 80 Iraqi children lived in the center of Mosul City (40 boys and 40 girls), were evaluated. The age ranged between 7-10 years .The casts were divided into two groups ; crowding and non crowding, the lengths and widths of the lower dental arches, dental and skeletal (linear and angular) cephalometric measurements were used to determine the effect of these measurements on mandibular anterior crowding. Results: Significant differences between crowding and non crowding groups were seen in many of dental and skeletal measurements particularly the angles measured the relation between the maxilla and mandible to the anterior cranial base, the length of the anterior and posterior cranial base and the angles measured the inclination of lower incisors to the mandibular plane. The correlation coefficients of the amount of crowding with all the measurements were studied. Some of them showed a positive correlation , while others showed a negative one. Conclusions: The current results suggested that besides tooth size and transverse arch dimensions, effective dentoskeletal measurements are also an important factors related to mandibular anterior crowding in the early mixed dentition.
