Correlation between vertical dimension of occlusion and length of fingers in dentate subjects.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether there is a correlation between finger length and the vertical dimension of occlusion in dentate individuals attending the prosthodontics department at Muhammad Dental College, Mirpurkhas.
Methodology: During this cross-sectional study 2023-2024, 218 patients with crown & bridge were included. Clinical an-thropometric measures were taken. The subjects received instructions to softly bite on their back teeth, keep their lips in passive contact, and keep their heads well-stabilized in order to retrieve the VDO. A Vernier caliper was then used to measure the distance. Each parameter was measured three times and average value was recorded.
Results: Average age of the patients was 25.39±2.58 years. The parameters for index finger length (r=0.669; p=0.0005), little finger length (r=0.666; p=0.0005), and the length of the tip of the thumb and the index finger (r =0.663; p=0.0005) had the highest correlations with VDO.
Conclusion: It is concluded that this procedure is simple, cost-effective, and non-invasive, therefore it might be used in routine practice to ascertain the vertical dimension of occlusion.

Keywords: Dentistry practice, Vertical dimension of occlusion, Prosthodontic therapy