Correlation of Three Dimensions of Palate with Maxillary Arch Form and Perimeter as Predictive Measures for Orthodontic and Orthognathic Surgery

Hard palate is regarded as an important part of the human skull, which contributes to the separation of the oral and nasal cavities. The aims of the study were to investigate the morphology of the hard palate in order to create a general guideline of three-dimensional values of the palate in a Kurdish sample in the city of Sulaimani as well as determining the possible correlations between different palatal parameters in class I malocclusion with the maxillary arch form and perimeter. A retrospective study design was adopted by collecting 100 study models of orthodontic patients aged 16-24 years old attending different private dental clinics in the city of Sulaimani seeking orthodontic management. In this study, three-dimensional palatal measurements including depth, length, and width were measured in an attempt to discover their correlation with each maxillary arch form and perimeter. Additionally, measurements of inter-molar width, inter-canine width, and arch perimeter were carried out. About two-thirds of those seeking orthodontic treatment were females. Nearly 80% of the study sample had narrow palate followed by 15 and 5% of intermediate palate and broad palate, respectively. In regard to arch form, almost 90% of subjects were with tapered maxillary arch form and 10% of them with oval arch form. Males had increased dimensions compared to females, with significant differences, except in palatal depth in the molar area, and palatine height index, in which females showed increased dimensions than males but the differences were statistically non-significant. A strong positive correlation was observed between arch form and canine depth. In regard to arch perimeter, a strong negative correlation was found with molar depth and a medium positive correlation with each of canine depth, palatal width, and palatal length.