Fallibility of Pont's index in a Bangladeshi population

Abstract Purpose Numerous indices have been proposed to help the clinician decide how much maxillary expansion will be required to alleviate crowding. The aim of this study is to test the fallibility of Pont's index in a Bangladeshi population, by assessing the applicability of this index in a Bangladeshi population and to compare the results with inter gender, inter normal occlusion, class I malocclusion, class II and class III malocclusion. Materials and methods Dental casts of 220 Bangladeshi individuals, comprising 95 males and 125 females (age range, 18–24 years, mean age = 20). The records belonged to 100 subjects with normal occlusion. Sixty subject with class I malocclusion, including those who showed crowding more than 5 mm and 30 subjects each with class II and class III malocclusion. Arch widths were compared between the measured and the predicted values derived from Pont's formula. Comparative statistics were applied. Results No significant differences were detected between inter gender and inter normal occlusion and malocclusions. The average predicted inter-premolar width (39.18 ± 2.13 mm) and inter-molar widths (48.97 ± 2.65 mm) were higher than the actual measured means. The premolar index (85.82) and molar index (66.93) of the Bangladeshi were higher than the original Pont's indices. Conclusion Significant correlations were noted for inter-premolar and inter-molar width. The findings suggest that Pont's index potentially overestimate the arch expansion required to alleviate crowding.