[Procuste cephalometry]

Procrustean cephalometrics employs Procrustes's methods to analyze cranio-facial and orthodontic structures. Using this technique, which is structured on a rigorous mathematical base, orthodontists can avoid the biases and limitations of traditional analyses based on index angles and linear measurements. The starting data are the coordinates of the anatomic landmarks discerned on a profile cephalometric X-ray. Employing this data, orthodontists can calculate patients' type and stage of growth. These factors, representative of the normal variability of each patient, make it possible for the orthodontist to calculate an individualized reference base: a harmonious face in good balance of the same type and at the same growth stage as the patient. Finally, orthodontists make the best possible superimposition of this personalized, "ideal" radiographic sketch on the patient's headplate, by using anatomic landmarks, not a reference plane, to determine the areas that are out of balance and identify the anomalies that will need to be corrected during treatment.