Maxillary canine impaction is a relatively common clinical problem and radiographic examination plays a crucial role in diagnosis and treatment planning.
Objective: To study the relation between sex and morphology of maxilla in patients with maxillary canine impaction using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).
Material and methods: The study sample consisted of the CBCT records of 90 subjects obtained before any surgical or orthodontic intervention. The records were divided into 2 main groups, Group I: the male group, consisted of 44 subjects divided into three subgroups, I a: the normally erupting maxillary canine subgroup (control group), I b: the buccal impaction canine subgroup and I c: the palatal impaction canine subgroup. Similarly, Group II: the female group, consisted of 46 subjects also divided into three similar subgroups. From the CBCT images, the following measurements and ratios were obtained to assess the maxillary morphology: inter-molar width, arch length, palatal vault depth, maxillary transverse skeletal width and nasal cavity width, in addition to the ratio of arch length to inter-molar width and the ratio of palatal vault depth to inter-molar width.
Results: Upon comparing parameters between groups I and II: for both males and females in the normal erupting canine and the palatally impacted canine subgroups the only statistically significant difference was found in the inter-molar width and the arch length, while in the buccally impacted canine subgroups the palatal vault depth, the maxillary skeletal width and nasal cavity width showed statistically significant differences between the male and female groups. The ratio of arch length to inter-molar width showed no statistically significant difference between males and females in all sub-groups while the ratio of palatal vault depth to inter-molar width showed differences between males and females only in the buccal impaction subgroups.
Conclusion: The male subjects of the palatally impacted canine have a wider and longer dental arch than the female subjects of the same subgroup while the male subjects of the buccally impacted canine subgroup have a deeper palatal vault, wider skeletal arch and nasal cavity width than the female subjects of the same subgroup. However, there was no difference between both sexes regarding the shape of the maxillary arch in all subgroups. .