Selected Indicators Used in Cephalometric Analysis and Their Predictive Value in Defining Sagittal Discrepancy Malocclusions: A Comparative Study.

In the coming years, the lateral cephalogram will remain, in many cases, the preferred diagnostic tool for planning and reliably assessing the results of orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the predictive value and agreement of angular and linear measurements, in terms of precision, in assessing the sagittal discrepancy of the maxillary bases. The study group consisted of 270 cephalometric images of patients aged 12-18 years of both sexes. Skeletal classification was performed by comparing the values of the obtained measurements between the corresponding ranges of the compared analyses. Assuming the current standard in class II assessments, based on the ANB angle value, the values closest to this standard with = 0.001 and OR (95%CI) were, in order, the Yen angle analysis (sensitivity 0.994), Tau (0.884), Sar (0.881), W (0.874) and Wits measurements (0.824). The highest predictive value was determined in comparison to the ANB value in the following order: Sar (0.688), W (0.687), Tau (0.709) and Wits (0.707). In the assessment of class III defects with similar assumptions, the closest to the analysis of the ANB angle in the assessment of sagittal discrepancy were, in the order of analysis, Wits (sensitivity 0.737), Sar (0.725), Tau (0.708), W (0.692) and Yen (0.575). The highest predictive value was determined in comparison to ANB in the following order: Yen (0.947), W (0.903), Sar (0.890) and Tau (0.886). The presented study confirms the possibility of using the new cephalometric measurements Tau, Yen, Sar and W as a supplement to the previous measurements of the ANB and Wits angles in the assessment of sagittal discrepancy. The results also indicate a higher sensitivity and specificity of the W and Sar angles in comparison to ANB and Wits.