A normative assessment of intercondylar distance and Bonwill’s triangle in a sample of Nigerians

Abstract

Introduction

The importance of Bonwill’s triangle can be appreciated in the following situations: construction of articulators; laying down foundation of most occlusion theories; determination of inclination of teeth to the occlusal plane and mounting of models on articulators.  Consequently, the objectives of this study were to determine the average size of Bonwill triangle among Nigerians with a view to confirming or refuting Bonwill’s claim and to compare the results of this study with other international studies.

Methodology

This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study with data from patients who attended a tertiary dental centre in Lagos, Nigeria. Forty-eight patients consisting of 24 males and 24 females, with age range of 18-55 years, participated in this study. Two investigators were involved in carrying out measurements.

Results

Forty-eight patients, consisting of 24 males and 24 females, with age range of between 18-55 years, participated in this study. The age range for males was between 21- 55years and females between 18 - 54 years. Males had a significantly higher mean age compared to females (P-value=0.019). The mean age for both male and female in groups 18-25 years, 26-35years and 36 years > were 29.2years, 47.9 years and 22.9 years respectively while the combined mean age of all the 48 participants was 31.31± 9.31 years. There was no significant statistical association between gender and age group (p=0.072).

Conclusion

Mean value articulator in the construction of dentures for Nigerians can accommodate the range of values as well as mean values obtained in this study.