105 Correlations of palatal surface area with anthropometric dimensions DISCUSSION This study aimed to assess the possible relationship between the dimensions of the palatal surface area and anthropometric measurements of the head and face in living subjects. An intra-oral scanner was used to determine the palatal surface area. The excellent ICC for the palatal surface areas indicated the high reproducibility of the intra-oral scanner technique. Various head and face measurements had a significant correlation with the palatal surface area. When stratified on sex, significant correlations with the female palatal surface were found with the mandibular length and palatal width. The adult palatal surface area found was 2120.6 mm2, which was comparable to findings from other studies with a mean of 1990-2010 mm2 [3, 6, 15]. In those studies, the palatal surface areas were determined using foil impressions taken from stone models [6, 15], while another study used CBCT imaging and digital analysis [3]. Apparently, all methods used so far reveal comparable and representative results as the reported palatal surface areas are in the same range. In addition, the technique presented in the current study, using an intra-oral scanner, adds up to this line of methods as it had a very good reproducibility with an excellent ICC. Moreover, the intra-oral scanner has the beneficial effect that it does not use ionizing radiation and its technique is easy, safe and less laborious. The palatal surface area in the current study did not differ between the two sexes. This finding is consistent with results of two other studies [3, 6], while another study revealed that male participants had a significantly larger palatal surface areas than females [15]. This latter study, however, included females with a mean age 16.88.02± years and males of 20.713.4± years old [15]. These participants were considerable younger than the volunteers in the current study with a mean age of 42.614.8± years. In this light, it has to be noted that maturation of female facial structures starts at an earlier age than in males [24]. For this reason, in younger groups, there is a significant sex difference in palatal surface area. That could explain why the study by Kerr et al. found significant differences for the palatal surface area measurements [15]. However, when investigating older participants, such as the current study, these differences for the palatal surface area were not apparent anymore. In the current study, head and face proportions differed significantly between females and males. This finding is broadly supported by the work of other studies describing the effects of sex on anthropometric orofacial measures, mentioning larger measures for males then in females [11, 21, 32]. In our previous study, investigating cadavers with CBCT, comparable anthropometric 5
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