The curve of Spee and craniofacial morphology: a multiple regression analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the curve of Spee and skeletal facial morphology. Dental casts and lateral cephalograms were obtained from 59 orthodontic patients. The amount of concavity of the curve of Spee was calculated by a second-order quadratic interpolation of buccal cusp tips obtained from lateral digital photographs of the teeth. The cephalometric analysis aimed to evaluate the sagittal and vertical craniofacial dimensions as well as the position of the mandibular condyle with respect to the occlusal plane. These variables, included in a multiple regression model, could explain 34% of the total variance of the curve of Spee. The amount of the curvature was significantly related to (a) the horizontal position of the condyle with respect to the dentition, (b) the sagittal position of the mandible with respect to the anterior cranial base, and (c) the ratio between the posterior and anterior facial height. No significant relationship was found between the curve of Spec and any of the other cephalometric variables. The curve of Spee was not influenced by age and gender of the subjects investigated.