Archform of Various Popualtions

The way the teeth are aligned on the basal bone determines the archform of an individual. Archform varies between two groups and two individuals of the same group. Differences in the archform is seen between males and females. Mismatch of archform leads to expansion or contraction of archforms and hence a relapse of the corrected malocclusion due to functional instability or structural imbalance is a possibility. Evaluating the archform of an individual plays a key role for an Orthodontist in treatment planning and attaining a greater post treatment stability. Therefore, customizing the archwire according to the local ethnic populations archform is important as it helps in achieving long term post treatment stability. There are studies done by various authors in evaluating and determining the archform for various populations. The archform derived for populations of Turkey, Iran, Japan, Korea, North American whites, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Israel, Bhutan, Malaysia, Caucasian, Italy and India simulate either; the MBT standard archwire forms with slight to moderate variations in the dimensions at canine, premolar or the molar depths or the pentamorphic archforms suggested by Roth. Even the archfroms analysis done on various populations in India viz. Maratha, Aurangabad, Moradabad, Gujarat and South Indian population showed similarities with the MBT standard archforms with slight to moderate variations. The most commonly used archwires today are standardized for Caucasian population. Total of 34 archwire forms are commercially available marketed by 12 companies. This poster describes the various archform studies and provides a comparative assessment of the variations.