Abstract

SILVA, Francisco Alexandre Baptista da  and  SCANAVINI, Marco Antonio. Evaluation of the space available for eruption of maxillary second and third molars after distalization of maxillary first molars. RSBO (Online) [online]. 2010, vol.7, n.3, pp. 303-311. ISSN 1984-5685.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate cephalometrically the space available for eruption of maxillary second and third molars in the region of the maxillary tuberosity after distalization of maxillary permanent first molars. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 38 right lateral cephalograms obtained from 19 Brazilian patients, of Caucasian and African descent, with average age of 9 years and 5 months. Cephalograms were taken before and after distalization of maxillary permanent first molars. The space from the end of the maxillary tuberosity to the distal aspect of the maxillary permanent first molar was evaluated. Student's t test was applied for the statistical analysis, and the correlation between space and angulation was analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The corresponding space between the distal aspect of maxillary permanent first molars and the end of the maxillary tuberosity, before and after distalization, is not enough for eruption of the maxillary second and third molars. The crowns revealed distal angulation before and after distalization. The correlation of angulation of crowns of maxillary second and third molars and the space for eruption revealed that the greater the distal angulation of crowns, the smaller will be the space available for eruption.

Keywords : space; positioning; distalization; molars; second molar.