International Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy

Evaluating the Reliability of Facial and Hand Measurements in Determining the Vertical Dimension of Occlusion
Salwa Omar Bajunaid, Bashayer Baras, Nuha Alhathlol, Alaa Al Ghamdi

Abstract
Objective: To determine the correlation between the vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) and different facial and hand measurements, contributing in the domain of prosthodontics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 134 dentate individuals of age group 20-45 years, who fulfilled the defined inclusion criteria. VDO along with facial and hand measurements were measured clinically usingVernier gauge. Regression analysis wasused to find the correlation between VDO and the other measurements. Results: Statistically, the minimum, maximum, and average vertical dimension of occlusion recorded for the participants were 52.33, 85.67, and 69 mm, respectively. The vertical distance from the outer canthus of the eye to the corner of mouth showed the strongest positivecorrelation with VDO, which was statistically significant. The distance from the outer canthus of the eye to the external auditory meatus and from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger showed the least significant correlation with VDO. Conclusion: The use of facial measurements, particularly the vertical distance from the outer canthus of the eye to the corner of the mouth, is a reliable and reproducible technique that can be used in daily clinical practice for VDO determination. It eliminates the need for subjective techniques, such as assessment the of physiologicrest position, appearance, speech, swallowing, and patient comfort, radiographs and devices that are complex and expensive.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijmp.v5n1a1