Residual craniofacial growth: A cephalometric study of 50 cases

Although orthodontists focus intensively on the diagnosis and treatment of their patients, they pay less attention to post-treatment development and the risk of relapse often caused by the late growth of the arches and bony base. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the growth changes, which can affect craniofacial dimensions in subjects aged between 13 and 17 years. A retrospective longitudinal study including 50 patients (31 girls and 19 boys) whose end of orthodontic treatment coincided with the end of the post-pubertal period (13-14 years) involved a comparison of the cephalometric analyses for each patient between T1 (end of orthodontic treatment) and T2 (end of retention). The study evidenced changes in the post-pubertal craniofacial dimensions in the vertical and sagittal dimensions. Girls and boys do not have the same potential for growth at the age of 13 years. The residual growth phenomenon is more present in boys than in girls with, on the one hand, an increase in the post-pubertal craniofacial dimensions affecting the mandible more particularly and, to a lesser degree, the maxillary sagittal dimension associated with a decrease in the vertical dimension.