Evaluation of the applicability of a North American cephalometric standard to Brazilian patients subjected to orthognathic surgery

Fernando Paganeli Machado GIGLIO, Eduardo SANT’ANA

Objectives: To study the applicability of a North American cephalometric standard to Brazilian patients subjected to orthognathic surgery by comparing the post-surgical/orthodontic treatment cephalometric tracings of 29 patients who had undergone surgery of the maxilla and mandible with the cephalometric standard used as guidance in planning the cases. Methods: The tracings were generated by the Dolphin Imaging 9.0 computer program from scanned lateral cephalograms in which 48 dental, osseous and tegumentary landmarks were defined. Thus, were obtained 26 linear and angular cephalometric measurements to be compared with normative values, considering sexual dimorphism and possible modifications to the treatment plan to meet the individual needs of each case, as well as any possible ethnic and racial differences. The sample data were compared with the standard using Student’s t-test means and standard deviations. Results: The results showed that for males, the sample means were significantly different from the standard in five of the measurements, while for women, nine were statistically different. However, despite the similarity of the means of most measurements in both genders, the data showed marked individual variations. Conclusions: An analysis of the results suggests that the North American cephalometric standard is applicable as a reference for planning orthodontic-surgical cases of Brazilian patients, provided that consideration is given to variations in the individual needs of each patient.

Keywords: Orthognathic surgery. Facial analysis. Cephalometric standard.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 07:19