Correlation of Vertical Dimension of Occlusion in Parents and Their Offspring: A Cephalometric Study

BACKGROUND: Establishment of optimal vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) for prosthetic patients, either complete denture or fixed full mouth rehabilitation, is a vital step to discern at a pleasing esthetics and harmonious function. None of the experiments in the literature studied the hopeful inheritance of the VDO from a parent to offspring. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish the dominant mode of inheritance of VDO from parents to offspring using cephalometric landmarks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Following the inclusion criteria, 20 families were selected and explained about the study design. Individual cephalograph of father, mother, and offspring were traced out of bony landmarks. The reference planes were delineated for the measurements from maxillary incisal (I) tip and mesio-palatal cusp tip of maxillary first molar (M) to palatal (PP) and inter-foramina (IFP) planes. RESULTS: In all the distances measured, there exists a statistically significant difference between both father and son and mother and son. For the measured IPP, MPP, and IIFP distances, there is no statistically significant difference existed between father and daughter. However, in MIFP distance, there is a significant difference between father and daughter. Except for the IIFP distance between mother and daughter (P = 0.08), in all other measured distances, there existed a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: There is no dominant mode of inheritance from the parent to the son with respect to the measured parameters. Inheritance was observed to be stronger between father and daughter than between mother and daughter.