Sh. Beckmann et al., ALVEOLAR AND SKELETAL DIMENSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH OVERBITE, American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, 113(4), 1998, pp. 443-452
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.