Facial type measurements influence on transverse dimensions of normal occlusion arches Influência das medidas do tipo facial nas dimensões transversas das arcadas em oclusão normal

Objective – To correlate facial type measurements of Caucasian individuals with transverse dimensions of normal occlusion arches. Methods – Twenty-one pairs of dental models were selected according to the following inclusion criteria: presence of all permanent teeth from 1 st molar to 1 st molar; normal occlusion; no prosthetic crowns; no previous orthodontic treatment and 2 mm or less of crowdings or spacings. The cephalometric measurements of lateral cephalometric X-ray of the same individuals were taken and tabulated. To evaluate the repetition of arch measurements, paired Student’s t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used. The relationship between the measurements was analysed by using the Pearson’s correlation. Results – The repetition of the measurements showed high correlation and no systematic error. In the comparison between the measurements, a moderate negative correlation was observed between facial axis angle and the measurements Upper and Lower 6-6, whereas a positive correlation was observed between dentition height and the latter. Conclusion – It was observed a negative correlation between facial axis angle and upper and lower inter-molar distance as well as a positive correlation between dentition height and upper and lower inter-molar distance. Descriptors: Face; Dental models; Dental arch Resumo