Benefits of lateral cephalogram during landmark identification on posteroanterior cephalograms

Precise identification of landmarks on posteroanterior (PA) cephalograms is necessary when evaluating lateral problems such as facial asymmetry. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the use of lateral (LA) cephalograms can reduce errors in landmark identification on PA cephalograms.

Five examiners identified 16 landmarks (Cg, N, ANS, GT, Me, RO, Lo, FM, Z, Or, Zyg, Cd, NC, Ms, M, and Ag) on 32 PA cephalograms with and without LA cephalograms at the same time. The positions of the landmarks were recorded and saved in the horizontal and vertical direction. The mean errors and standard deviation of landmarks location according to the use of LA cephalograms were compared for each landmark.

Relatively small errors were found for ANS, Me, Ms, and Ag, while relatively large errors were found for N, GT, Z, Or, and Cd. No significant difference was found between the horizontal and vertical errors for Z and Or, while large vertical errors were found for N, GT, and Cd. The value of identification error was lower when the landmarks were identified using LA cephalograms. Statistically significant error reductions were found at N and Cd with LA cephalograms, especially in the vertical direction.

The use of LA cephalograms during identification of landmarks on PA cephalograms could help reduce identification errors.