Craniofacial height in relation to cross-sectional maxillary and mandibular morphology

Abstract

BackgroundIn order to gain a better understanding of how growth of the alveolar bone is linked to the vertical development of the face, the purpose of this study was to investigate if there is an association between the cross-sectional morphology of the maxillary and mandibular bodies with the craniofacial height, using images from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).MethodsFrom 450 pre-treatment CBCT scans, 180 were selected to be included in the study. Lateral head images were generated from the CBCT scans and were used to categorise subjects into three groups based on their vertical craniofacial height. Cross-sectional images from CBCT volumes were reformatted of the maxillary and mandibular bodies at five locations in the maxilla and five in the mandible. Each image was measured at one height and two width measurements. Statistical analysis performed was the one-way analysis of variance with a Tukey post hoc test. A significance level of 5% was used in all comparisons.ResultsPatients with large vertical craniofacial height had a significantly higher cross-sectional area both in the maxilla and in the mandible. In the same group, the cross-sectional area was significantly thinner in the mandible compared with the other two groups, especially in the anterior region.ConclusionsThis study further highlights the close relationship between craniofacial height and alveolar bone dimensions and contributes with important knowledge for planning and follow-up of comprehensive dental- and orthodontic treatments.

A rater agreement study on measurements in cross-sectional CBCT images exploring the association between alveolar bone morphology and craniofacial height

“…The association between craniofacial height and cross-sectional maxillary and mandibular bone height was most evident in the premolar and incisal regions. These results strengthen the findings of our previous study [16] and are to a certain extent in concordance with the results of the study by Sadek et al [15] where statistical differences were found in the anterior part of the maxilla. Therefore, it can be concluded that the dentoalveolar compensatory mechanism, via continued tooth eruption, responds in the maxilla and mandible by enlarging the vertical size of the frontal dentoalveolar heights in long-face subjects and, conversely, less tooth eruption will take place in short-face subjects [22].…”

“…Gracco and co-workers used cone beam CT (CBCT) images of patients to investigate associations between the morphology of the upper jaw, the position of the upper incisors, and craniofacial type as well as the association between the morphology of the mandibular symphysis and the various craniofacial types [13,14]. Also, based on measurements in CBCT images, significant relationships have been found between craniofacial height and alveolar bone height and width in different tooth-bearing regions of the maxilla and mandible [15,16]. With regard to measurements of alveolar bone height and width and the association to craniofacial height, some studies present intrarater agreement [11,15].…”

“…The inclination of the angle formed between the NSL line and the ML line was used to categorize the subjects into the following: low-angle < 27°, average/normal-angle 27-37° and a highangle group > 37°. After identifying 60 individuals in the low-angle group, this number of scans was set as the limit for the number to be included in the normal-and high-angle group for equal comparisons giving a total of 180 subjects, as described previously (16).…”

Comparison of mandibular cross-sectional morphology between Class I and Class II subjects with different vertical patterns: based on CBCT images and statistical shape analysis

“…Mandible was reoriented in order that mandibular plane was parallel to the horizontal (Fig. 1 a) [ 2 , 23 ]. Then mandibular cross-sections between central incisors, lateral incisor and canine, first and second premolars, first and second molars from left and right sides were obtained and saved as JPEG files (Fig.…”

Correlation between facial growth patterns and cortical bone thickness assessed with cone-beam computed tomography in young adult untreated patients

“…The authors concluded that high-angle group presented thinner alveolus anteriorly in the maxilla and at almost all sites in the mandible. Similarly, Kuitert et al (2006) found that the cortical bone height was statistically significant longer in hyperdivergent faces than hypodivergent ones because of the increased dento-alveolar compensation mechanism occured in long-face patients ( Klinge et al, 2017 ).…”