Assessment of the intercanine gingival zenith (or CEJ) distance as a method for determining occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) - a crosssectional observational study

Q: What is the study assessing about the intercanine gingival zenith (CEJ) distance?

The study evaluates whether the distance between gingival zeniths of the maxillary canine and ipsilateral mandibular canine can serve as a clinical method to determine occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) in fully dentate individuals with skeletal Class I occlusion.

Q: How was the study conducted and who were the participants?

A cross-sectional clinical evaluation was conducted on 210 adult dental students with complete dentition, healthy periodontium, and bilateral molar Class I relationship.

Q: What did the results show regarding measurement symmetry and validity?

Mean intercanine distance was 16.7 mm on the right and 16.9 mm on the left, demonstrating strong bilateral symmetry (correlation coefficient 0.859; p<0.001). The overall mean of 16.8 mm supports clinical validity of this biometric measurement as a stable reference for OVD in similar populations.

Sep 29, 2026

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Objective: Evaluate the validity of the distance between the gingival zenith of the maxillary canine and the gingival zenith of the ipsilateral mandibular canine as a clinical method for determining occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) in fully dentate individuals with skeletal Class I occlusion. Methods: A cross-sectional clinical evaluation was performed. Results: In 210 adult students, mean intercanine distance was 16.7 mm (right) and 16.9 mm (left), showing strong bilateral symmetry (r=0.859; p<0.001). Males showed higher values than females (~1.15 mm), with no age-group differences. The overall mean was 16.8 mm, supporting clinical validity of CEJ/gingival-zenith measurements as stable, accessible anatomical references for OVD in similar populations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Objective

Results

Introduction

Definition and clinical importance of vertical dimension

Effects of altered vertical dimension

Rationale for intercanine gingival zenith/CEJ distance method

Methods

Study design

Population and sample

Abad-Coronel et al. BMC Research Notes (2026) 19:1 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07571-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07571-y) BMC Research Notes RESEARCH NOTE Open Access Assessment of the intercanine gingival zenith (or CEJ) distance as a method for determining occlusal vertical dimension (OVD): a crosssectional observational study Cristian Abad-Coronel 1*, Mariam Portocarrero Miranda2 and Kelly Malla Bernal2 Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of the distance between the gingival zenith of the maxillary canine and the gingival zenith of the ipsilateral mandibular canine as a clinical method for determining occlusal vertical dimension in fully dentate individuals with skeletal Class I occlusion. Results A cross-sectional clinical evaluation was conducted on 210 adult dental students with complete dentition, healthy periodontium, and bilateral molar Class I relationship. The mean intercanine distance was 16.7 mm on the right side and 16.9 mm on the left side, demonstrating strong bilateral symmetry (correlation coefficient = 0 . 859; p < 0. 001) . Male participants had significantly higher measurements than females, with mean differences of approximately 1.15 mm, while no significant differences were observed across age groups. The overall mean value of 16.8 mm supports the clinical validity of this biometric measurement as a stable and accessible anatomical reference for determining occlusal vertical dimension in similar populations. Keywords Occlusal vertical dimension, Biometric assessment, Prosthodontic planning Introduction Vertical dimension (VD) is defined as the distance between two selected anatomical or marked points, one on a fixed part and the other on a movable part [1]. This parameter, is fundamental in dental clinical practice because its alteration can compromise function and neuromuscular balance, as several studies have documented neuromuscular disorders associated with inadequate VD [2, 3]. Furthermore, changes in VD have been shown to *Correspondence: Cristian Abad-Coronel [cristian.abad@ucuenca.edu.ec](cristian.abad@ucuenca.edu.ec) 1Digital Dentistry and CAD/CAM Materials Research Group, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador 2Faculty of Dentistry, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador negatively affect phonetics and masticatory efficiency, especially in edentulous patients undergoing prosthetic rehabilitation [4–6]. The aesthetic implications of reduced VD, including alterations in facial proportionsand smile line, have also been widely discussed in the literature [7–9]. Reduced VD is associated with masticatory muscle hyperactivity, altered occlusal forces, and temporomandibular disorders [10–12]. In Latin American populations, where ethnic craniofacial variability — including mestizo, Indigenous, and Afro-Latin groups — may influence the applicability of vertical dimension parameters, recent genetic studies from Ecuador highlight a complex admixture pattern with variable craniofacial morphologies [13]. © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtai

FAQs

What is the study assessing about the intercanine gingival zenith (CEJ) distance?

The study evaluates whether the distance between gingival zeniths of the maxillary canine and ipsilateral mandibular canine can serve as a clinical method to determine occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) in fully dentate individuals with skeletal Class I occlusion.

How was the study conducted and who were the participants?

A cross-sectional clinical evaluation was conducted on 210 adult dental students with complete dentition, healthy periodontium, and bilateral molar Class I relationship.

What did the results show regarding measurement symmetry and validity?

Mean intercanine distance was 16.7 mm on the right and 16.9 mm on the left, demonstrating strong bilateral symmetry (correlation coefficient 0.859; p<0.001). The overall mean of 16.8 mm supports clinical validity of this biometric measurement as a stable reference for OVD in similar populations.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Blitz