Applicability of Boston University approach for prediction of mesiodistal width of canines and premolars in the primary schoolchildren of rural Bengaluru An in vivo study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Boston University (BU) approach is a method for early prediction of unerupted permanent mandibular teeth widths based on the mesiodistal widths (MDWs) of primary mandibular canines and first molars. The present study was conducted to test the validity of BU approach by comparing it with Tanaka–Johnston (T/J) approach in the contemporary population. Aims and Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the applicability of BU approach for prediction of the MDWs of canines and premolars in the primary schoolchildren of rural Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 100 healthy schoolchildren of rural Bengaluru aged between 7 and 11 years. The MDWs of canines and premolars were predicted using both T/J and the considered BU approaches for all the children and were compared. Results: The correlation coefficient showed a statistically significant correlation between the predicted tooth size from the two predicted methods in the upper and lower arches (P < 0.001), with Pearson's correlation coefficient showing the very strong positive relationship (r = 0.7). Significant differences were seen between the mean predicted width of canines and premolars by both the approaches (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In spite of the limitations, we recommend the use of BU approach to predict arch length-tooth material discrepancy at an early age and to get at least an approximate estimation of the required space. We also advocate the necessity of further research on this approach prospectively.