A METAANALYSIS OF NORMAL RANGES FOR ROOT SURFACE-AREAS OF THE PERMANENT DENTITION

The typical values and normal ranges of the permanent dentition root surface areas were estimated based on a meta-analysis of 4730 root surface area measurements collected from 22 published studies between 1950 and 1992. A typical dentition root surface area, excluding 3rd molars, was 75 cm2, and 95% of the dentitions had a total root surface area somewhere between 65 cm2 and 86 cm2. The prognostic significance of particular values of root surface areas for dental treatment outcomes requires further investigation.