The purpose of this study was to establish the mesiodistal tooth width of permanent teeth in a Saudi population sample. The measurements were obtained from 30 pairs of randomly selected dental casts. The subjects age ranged from 13 to 20 years. An electronic digital caliper was used for the measurements. Descriptive statistics was used for the analysis of the data. The results of this study presents the mean values of the mesiodistal tooth width of permanent teeth in both arches, the error of the method, and the coefficient of variation. The error of the method in the present study ranged from 0.02 mm to 0.30 mm, with the first molars exhibiting the least coefficient of variation while the central and the lateral incisors showed the most. Hence, the results obtained could be of help in clinical orthodontics for space assessment. Results are also of importance to anthropologists and may be used as a basis for future studies.

Saudi Dental Journal 1993;5(2):68-72.