Dental crown and arch size in europeans and Australian aboriginals

Various methods have been used to measure human dental crown and arch size as a means of examining population affinities and differences. Traditionally, this has been done using hand-held calipers, however, new technology such as two dimensional and three dimensional imaging now provide alternatives for researchers. Here, we report the findings of a study to validate two new imaging techniques (2D and 3D) and to quantify differences in the dentitions of several human populations for whome dental records are available. 2D photographic imaging using a digital SLR (Canon Inc, Tokyho, Japan), and 3D laser scanning with an Optix 400S 3D laser scanner (3D DigitalCorp, Connecticut, USA) were utilized. Measurements of dental crown variables, including mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions and interarch widths, were explored statistically. Data extracted using both 2D and 3D techniques were compared to assess the precision and accuracy of the two methods. Both 2D and 3D techniques displayed high levels of precision and accuracy, and highlighted statisticallly significan differences in dental crown size and arch size within and between the study populations. The methods developed offer considerable promise for the field of forensic odontology, including distinguishing individuals within populations on the basis of their dentitions.Atika Ashar, Toby Hughes, Helen James, John Kaidonis, Fadhli Khamis and Grant Townsen