Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increased trend towards starting pedodontic and orthodontic treatment during the early mixed-dentition period. Before a clinical diagnosis and plan of treatment can be made, it is essential that the pedodontist and orthodontist have an accurate method of predicting the sizes of the unerupted lower canines and premolars. As Nance has indicated, this arch is used as a reference point in most prediction analyses for successful mixed-dentition predictions focus on analysis of the lower arch.
It is the intent of this article to compare the accuracy of some of the more popular prediction methods. The methods in question include those of Ono, Moyers, Hamano, and Hirata.
Study casts were taken from a sample of 45 children (23 males and 22 females), born and reared in Yamagata city, Yamagata prefecture in the Tohoku area (northeast area) in Japan.
The result were obtained as follows:
1. When the absolute values of errors between predicted values and actual values, as a standard to compare the accuracy of prediction methods, were used in this article, it was found that the method proposed by Hirata was more accurate.
2. The histograms of the absolute values of errors between predicted values and actual values of each method indicated tendencies towards a minus quantity.
3. The regression equations between predicted values and actual values of females of each method indicated high tendencies of agreement of those.
