Abstract
Objective: The objective of present study is to compare the accuracy of Chu's simplified method for calculating anterior tooth size discrepancy with that of Bolton's method.
Material and methods: The study was performed on 58 dental casts of untreated orthodontic patients, which were to undergo fixed orthodontic treatment in department of Orthodontics, Rehman College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Pakistan.The inclusion criteria were complete permanent dentition from permanent canine to canine in both the arches. Dental casts with morphological defects such as peg laterals, fractured crowns and severe attrition were excluded. The mesiodistal width of six maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth was used to calculate the anterior tooth size discrepancy using two different methods.
Results: Chu's method for determining anterior tooth size discrepancy show over-estimation as compared to Bolton's method, with an average difference of 2.33 ±1.3mm. Difference was highly significant statistically (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Chu's method cannot be an accurate clinical substitute of Bolton's method.