Application of Pont‘s Index to Lithuanian Individuals: a Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: A variety of diagnostic indices in orthodontics have been proposed to help in diagnosis and treatment planning. Pont’s Index was established to predict ideal maxillary dental arch width from the sum of mesiodistal widths of four upper incisors. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of Pont’s Index to Lithuanian individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample comprised 52 subjects (age range from 18 to 35 years) with normal occlusion. Measurements were obtained directly from plaster casts using a digital calliper. Ideal arch widths were calculated for each subject according to Pont’s formulae, and the correlation coefficients were calculated between the measured and the calculated arch width values. RESULTS: Correlation between the measured width values and the corresponding values calculated according to Pont’s Index was moderate in all cases, with correlation coefficients values ranging from 0.59 (mandible) to 0.64 (maxilla) in first premolar’s area and 0.49 in both maxilla and mandible in first molar’s area (P < 0.05). Appropriate index values for Lithuanian individuals were assessed to be 85.57 in premolars and 66.24 in molars area. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, there was no strong evidence to suggest that Pont’s Index could be reliably used to predict ideal arch width values in Lithuanian individuals.