Special characteristics of odontometric parameters of the indigenous residents of Southwestern Africa

Abstract

When creating high-quality aesthetic dental restorations, it is necessary to take into account the individual and ethnic characteristics of the patient. The aim is to study the morphometric parameters of teeth in representatives of the eastern bantoid type of the Negro race (Namibia) in comparison with the odontometric indicators of representatives of the Mongoloid (indigenous inhabitants of Elista, Kalmykia) and Caucasoid races (indigenous inhabitants of the Oryol region) for planning aesthetic dental restoration.
Materials and methods.
We examined 29 volunteers (22 women and 7 men) aged 20—25 years old, indigenous people of Namibia, students of the RUDN University. In the university dental clinic, two-layer, one-stage anatomical impressions were obtained and gypsum models of the dentition were made, on which measurements were carried out using a digital caliper. In this study, the odontometric parameters (3 absolute and 5 relative) were studied: width, height, thickness, massiveness, modulus, tooth crown index, inter-incisal and molar step indices. A comparative analysis of the results obtained with similar data from representatives of two contrasting ethnic groups: Kalmyks and Russians was carried out.
Results.
In the indigenous inhabitants of Namibia, the width of the canines is 0.5—0.6 mm less, and the width of the second premolars is larger by the same amount in comparison with those of the representatives of the indigenous inhabitants of Kalmykia and the Oryol region. In representatives of the Negro race, the height, width and massiveness of the crowns of the lateral teeth, especially molars, are significantly bigger than in Mongoloids and Caucasians. When analyzing odontometric parameters, significant differences were noted in the sequence of mesiodistal sizes in the class of molars in the examined groups: in Kalmyks and Russian mesiodistal size of the first molar is larger than that of the second, both on the upper and lower jaws; and in Namibians — on the lower jaw, the second molar according to the mesiodistal parameter is larger than the first molar.
Conclusion.
From the standpoint of planning the restoration of teeth in an aesthetically significant area, the identified features of the odontometric parameters of canines and premolars in the indigenous people of Namibia should be taken into account. Significant differences were revealed in odontometric parameters in the mesiodistal and vestibulo-oral sizes of the lateral group of teeth of the indigenous inhabitants of Namibia and representatives of other ethnic groups. The revealed features of the crowns of the teeth of the studied racial-ethnic groups indicate the advisability of an in-depth study of the structure and shape of the dentition for effective complex dental rehabilitation.