An analysis of orthodontically induced changes in craniofacial form

Traditional cephalometric analyses facilitate only cursory craniofacial evaluation. When a more rigorous geometric technique, in the form of finite element analysis, was applied to a retrospective series of lateral cephalographs taken before and after the completion of the orthodontic therapy, however, complex craniofacial size and shape changes were apparent. Such complexities could not have been detected from conventional cephalographic appraisal.