[Postero-anterior cephalometric features in Japanese children with malocclusion]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the craniofacial morphology and the growth pattern in the frontal dimension of Japanese children with malocclusion. Nine hundred twenty-one subjects composed of 343 males and 578 females without any orthodontic treatment, age ranging from 7 years to 18 years, were classified into 3 types of facial skeletal pattern according to the A-B difference in lateral cephalogram. The direct measurement of the width and the relative ratio of the craniofacial components to the cranium were used for the parameter of the craniofacial size and shape. The following results were obtained: 1. Independently of malocclusion, the craniofacial size of the male was significantly larger than that of the female, while the craniofacial shape of the male was almost same as that of the female. 2. In despite of the remarkable morphological difference in the lateral dimension, the characteristic morphology peculiar to a certain facial type could not be extracted in the frontal dimension. 3. In all types of malocclusion, a marked amount of growth was observed in the midface and mandible. However, the growth pattern of each craniofacial component in the female sample showed almost the same pattern, comparable with the different pattern of the midface and mandible in the male sample. 4. The clinical application of this study was tested in a case of Apert's syndrome.