The present study constitutes an attempt to compare normal traits for palatal height and width at different stages of dentition development of two ethnic groups of the Middle East. The observations were obtained from 346 randomly selected normal subjects, 188 Saudis and 158 Egyptians. The stone models were divided into three categories in both groups--primary, mixed and permanent dentitions. Palatal index values were calculated at two levels. Vernier calipers were used to measure the palatal width. Palatal depth was measured by profile Gauge by Vitrex. The results of this study demonstrate no significant difference between ethnic groups at levels 1 and 2 in relation to the palatal height, width and index. For both groups, palatal index increased significantly from the primary to mixed and permanent dentition at level 1. At level 2, palatal index and height showed decreases in measurement in the mixed dentition compared with the primary and the permanent dentitions. Subjective assessment of the palatal height correlated with palatal index. The casts were then labelled so that the shallow group had the smallest palatal index followed by the normal and the deep group had the largest palatal index. The results contribute to the information available on the development of palatal shape within two Middle Eastern populations. Knowledge of the normal range in shape can act as a baseline for studies of certain oral developmental abnormalities.

Incidence of gingival recession in the mandibular central incisor region was examined in a sample of 1336 male and female Saudi schoolchildren aged from 10-15 yr. Gingival recession was found in 9.88% with no significant difference in the affected teeth by age (p greater than 0.8361). There was a significant difference in the mean clinical crown length between the affected and adjacent teeth (p less than 0.0001). The highest significant association of gingival recession was found with inflammation (p less than 0.0001), anterior crowding (p less than 0.0009) and frenal involvement (p less than 0.0001). The results of this investigation suggest that future studies should be made to evaluate the effect of miswak as a cleansing agent for the gingival tissues among the Saudi population.