Evaluation of vertical parameters in cephalometry.

AIM

The aim of this study was to determine the validity of different vertical parameters in cephalometry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cephalograms of 94 patients were used in this study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: skeletal Class I, completion of maximum skeletal growth, and no history of orthodontic therapy. The control group consisted of 34 subjects with very good occlusion (overbite 2-4 mm). The patients were classified with the help of dental casts: Group 1 (n = 31) patients with cover-bite (overbite > 5.5 mm) and Group 2 (n = 29) patients with anterior open bite (overbite < -0.5 mm). In addition to the 24 standard cephalometric measurements (Bergen-Analysis), we included individualized norm values (Segner & Hasund), the Overbite Depth Indicator (ODI) described by Kim, the Denture Frame Analysis (DFA) described by Sato, and facial-type evaluations according to Schopf.

RESULTS

We observed significant differences among the three study groups in all the vertical parameters tested. We demonstrated statistically-significant classification results for the Segner & Hasund harmony box's individualized norm values (83.8%), and those of the ODI (77.7%) and ML-AB angle (76.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the vertical cephalometric parameters, we succeeded in statistically differentiating among the groups with open bite, cover-bite and the control group. Various measurements must be taken to ensure that the cephalometric vertical relationships are reliably evaluated.