Original article
Dentoskeletal and tongue soft-tissue correlates: A cephalometric analysis of rest position

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Abstract

The relationship between dentoskeletal and tongue soft-tissue variables has been quantified in a sample of 60 adult females with normal and anterior open-bite malocclusions. Three lateral rest-position head films were obtained for each subject. A principal component analysis reduced the data base and six significant canonical correlations were identified. The first canonical correlation (r1 = 0.962) represented a size-related correlation factor between the two groups of variables. Subjects with characteristics of a short face syndrome and some evidence of overbite had tongue tips positioned below the lower occlusal plane (r2 = 0.929). In contrast, skeletal open-bite subjects (r4 = 0.759) revealed tongue tips ahead of and above the lower incisor teeth with the mandible in the rest position. Undererupted mandibular teeth (r5 = 0.666) were associated with a reduced tongue height and an inferior epiglottis; short tongue length (r6 = 0.563) correlated with a linear combination of upright central incisors, a small overjet, a low ANB angle, unerupted maxillary and mandibular teeth, and a steep occlusal plane. The multivariate statistical analysis extracted clinically significant associations between tongue soft-tissue and dentoskeletal variables. Tongue posture at rest in skeletal open-bite subjects appeared to be related to incisor position.

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    In addition, this study was funded by Grant-In-Aid No. 444069 from the Ministry of Education, Government of Japan.

    Professor and Head, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia.

    1

    The first author was supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada (Grant MA-3849 and a Visiting Scientist Award) and a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship during his tenure as visiting professor in the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Osaka University.

    ∗∗

    Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Osaka University.

    ∗∗∗∗

    Professor and Chairman, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Osaka University.

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