Aim: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the reduction of the distal teeth towards the medial ones in one functional dental group in southern Bulgarian population.
Materials and methods: The study included 232 Bulgarians aged 20-40 years. Mesiodistal dimensions of the teeth were measured by Dentistry Sliding Vernier Caliper and analyzed with SPSS 23.0. Four interdental indices were calculated: inter-incisive, premolar, upper, and lower molar indices.
Results: We found a decrease in the percentage ratio of the lateral to the central incisors of people from the Bulgarian population compared to those dating from the Eneolithic period on the territory of Bulgaria. Furthermore, we found a reduction in the percentage ratio of the upper and lower second molars compared to the first ones. The biggest reduction in the percentage ratio (more than 6%) was found in the lower second premolars compared to the first ones, which is characteristic for southern Bulgarians.
Conclusion: There was a dental reduction in all the distal members compared to the medial ones participating in one morphological dental group. As a result, we think that interdental indices can be used for explaining historical, cultural, and biological macro and microevolutionary processes and thus for understanding the origin, formation, contacts, and migration pathways of the different populations leading to ethnic variation of humanity. Therefore, they can be a reliable source of information in physiological anthropology.
Keywords: Bulgarian population; Dental reduction; Evolution; Odontometry; Physiological anthropology.
© 2023. The Author(s).