Tooth size in dentitions with buccal canine ectopia

Much interest has been expressed in recent years regarding various features common to dentitions with palatally displaced canines (PDC), particularly in relation to delayed dental development and reduced tooth size. The aims of the present study were to determine whether dentitions with buccally displaced canines (BDC) have features in common, which may be specific for the condition, when compared with PDC dentitions and those with normally erupting canines. Mesiodistal and buccolingual tooth dimensions were determined for 41 subjects with BDC (21 females and 20 males) aged between 11 and 15 years, who formed the experimental sample. The PDC sample was made up of 58 individuals (37 females and 21 males) and the control group comprised 40 age-matched and consecutively treated subjects (20 males and 20 females), exhibiting normally erupted and undisplaced maxillary canines. The results revealed marked sexual dimorphism. Larger-than-average teeth were present in BDC females, whereas the teeth in BDC males were normally sized. Unilaterally affected females had smaller teeth than bilaterally affected females. Tooth size in BDC was consistently larger than in PDC subjects, although the reason was different between the sexes. In females the PDC teeth were normally sized versus large BDC teeth, whereas in the males, the PDC teeth were small and the BDC teeth normal. It is concluded that combining male and female subjects into an overall BDC group obscures important differences that exist between the two sexes.