The mandibular second molars are lingually positioned relative to the alveolar ridge and have a limited amount of lingual alveolar bony support. As the maxillary second molars are articulated with the mandibular second molars, maintaining the normal buccolingual inclination of both maxillary and mandibular second molars would potentially help to not only optimize the masticatory function, but also avoid dehiscence and fenestration. The current study evaluated the buccolingual inclination of second molars in untreated adolescents and adults. One hundred and two Caucasian subjects with skeletal class I and minimum dental arch crowding/spacing were selected and divided into two groups: (1) adolescent group: age 12-18 years, N = 51 (21 females, 30 males); (2) adult group: age 19-65 years, N = 51 (40 females, 11 males). For each subject, the inclination for each second molar was measured as the angle between the long axis of each tooth and a vertical line on cone beam computed tomography images. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for intergroup comparisons. Maxillary second molars exhibited a buccal inclination of 15.30° in the adolescent group and 15.70° in the adult group. Mandibular second molars exhibited a lingual inclination of 17.05° in the adolescent group and 15.20° in the adult group. No statistically significant differences were detected between the age groups. In addition, a statistically significant difference was only found between genders in the adolescent group for the maxillary second molar inclination. In summary, maxillary second molars exhibited buccal inclination and mandibular second molars exhibited lingual inclination. The amount of buccolingual inclination of the second molars was similar in the adolescent and adult groups.
Keywords: CBCT; adolescents; adults; buccolingual inclination; second molars.