ALVEOLAR AND SKELETAL DIMENSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH OVERBITE

The aim of this study was to investigate whether in the maxilla and in the mandible the structure of the anterior medial sagittal alveolar a nd basal bone is related to the overbite. A total of 460 untreated adu lt subjects were divided into four groups with either deep bite, norma l overbite, end-to-end bite, or open bite and were compared. The overb ite, lower face height, and anterior alveolar and basal midsagittal cr oss-sectional areas from the maxilla and the mandible were assessed on lateral cephalometric radiographs. An index was calculated, dividing the sagittal by the vertical dimension of the midsagittal cross-sectio nal area. A deeper bite coincided with smaller lower face height, larg er alveolar and basal areas, and a more widened shape of the symphysis . If the lower face height was introduced as a covariable, the open bi te group showed significantly smaller maxillary and mandibular alveola r and basal cross-sectional areas compared with the end-to-end group, the normal overbite group, or the deep bite group. Vertical variation of the overbite probably coincides with a relative hyperdevelopment or hypodevelopment of the symphysis.