Crown diameters of the deciduous teeth in Australian Aboriginals

Abstract

Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown diameters were measured from dental casts representing the deciduous dentitions of 197 Aboriginal children from the Northern Territory of Australia. Double determination analysis indicated that the semi‐automatic recording procedure used was reliable leading to observer errors of no practical significance. Tooth‐size was greater in the male subjects but the sexual dimorphism was less marked than in the permanent teeth of the same subjects. The mandibular teeth were more uniform than maxillary with respect to buccolingual size relative to mesiodistal. Extremes of general tooth‐size were more marked in the deciduous dentition than in the permanent as a consequence of the relatively large deciduous second molar which in Aboriginals approximates in size the permanent first molar of many other ethnic groups.