A new cephalometric diagnostic method for Down's Syndrome patients with open bite.

Vertical cephalometric analysis is a new cephalometric diagnostic method, created and studied by the author, which allows us to identify objectively the dental and skeletal components found in certain types of open bites. Down's Syndrome patients frequently have this type of malocclusion which produces a significant dysfunction of the whole stomatognathic system. The primary complication of the treatment lies in the difficulty of identifying exactly how much of an open bite is dental and how much is skeletal; indeed, it is precisely this extremely important factor where this diagnostic method will be useful. Only two indexes are needed. The first, called SOBI (skeletal open bite index), measures the skeletal component, while the DOBI (dental open bite index) measures the dental component. The quantitative value of both components will establish a diagnosis-prognosis for the patient.