Growth of mandibular prognathism after pubertal growth peak.

This study deals with the growth changes of the Japanese face associated with mandibular prognathism during 3 years after the pubertal growth peak. The investigation was based on the serial lateral cephalometric roentgenograms of prognathic and normal males and females, respectively. Maturational stages of the pubertal growth were determined individually by the ossification events taken from hand-wrist radiographs. Results indicate that the morphologic characteristics of the mandibular prognathism, which are established before the pubertal growth peak, are strongly maintained during the period studied. However, mandibular prognathism seems to show a manner of growth change fairly similar to that of the normal after the pubertal growth peak.