Correlation between buccolingual tooth inclination and alveolar bone thickness in subjects with Class III dentofacial deformities

•We measured buccolingual inclinations and alveolar bone thicknesses.•We compared normal occlusion subjects and those with Class III dentofacial deformities.•Greater buccolingual inclinations were observed in the maxillary incisors in both groups.•Average thicknesses were lower in Class III subjects than in those with normal occlusion.•Few significant correlations were found between alveolar thickness and tooth inclination.

IntroductionThe purposes of this study were to identify buccolingual inclinations and alveolar bone thickness in patients with Class III dentofacial deformities and to compare these measurements with those from subjects with normal occlusions to verify, based on the correlation between these 2 variables, whether the natural process of bone remodeling provides uniformity of bone thickness or whether it varies around the roots due to tooth inclination.MethodsThe sample consisted of 35 adults with normal occlusions and 35 adults with Class III dentofacial deformities with no previous orthodontic treatment. Buccolingual inclinations and alveolar bone thickness were measured at 3 heights from the cementoenamel junction from 3-dimensional images generated by cone-beam computed tomography.ResultsThe region corresponding to the maxillary canines appeared to be thinner, and the palatal area of the maxillary central incisors and the distobuccal region of the mandibular second molars appeared to be thicker. Greater tooth inclinations were observed in the maxillary incisors and mandibular canines, and smaller tooth inclinations were observed on the buccal roots of the mandibular second molars.ConclusionsIn subjects with Class III deformities, more statistically significant correlations were found between inclination and thickness in the mandibular teeth, whereas in subjects with normal occlusion, few statistically significant correlations were found between these 2 variables.