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Updated: May 29, 2026
Precision Measurements and Parametric Models of Vertebral Endplates
Published on: September 17, 2019
Validity and reliability of a method for assessment of cervical vertebral maturation
Xiao-Guang Zhao1, Jiuxiang Lin, Jiu-Hui Jiang
1Department of Orthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To evaluate the validity and reliability of the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) method with a longitudinal sample.
Materials And Methods:
Eighty-six cephalograms from 18 subjects (5 males and 13 females) were selected from the longitudinal database. Total mandibular length was measured on each film; an increased rate served as the gold standard in examination of the validity of the CVM method. Eleven orthodontists, after receiving intensive training in the CVM method, evaluated all films twice. Kendall's W and the weighted kappa statistic were employed.
Results:
Kendall's W values were higher than 0.8 at both times, indicating strong interobserver reproducibility, but interobserver agreement was documented twice at less than 50%. A wide range of intraobserver agreement was noted (40.7%-79.1%), and substantial intraobserver reproducibility was proved by kappa values (0.53-0.86). With regard to validity, moderate agreement was reported between the gold standard and observer staging at the initial time (kappa values 0.44-0.61). However, agreement seemed to be unacceptable for clinical use, especially in cervical stage 3 (26.8%).
Conclusions:
Even though the validity and reliability of the CVM method proved statistically acceptable, we suggest that many other growth indicators should be taken into consideration in evaluating adolescent skeletal maturation.
