Cephalometric diagnosis and surgical-orthodontic correction of apertognathia

Nineteen postadolescent white woman with uncorrected Class I molar and/or canine occlusion were compared cephalometrically to thirteen postadolescent white women with skeletal apertognathia that was later corrected by a combination of surgical procedures, the common denominator being maxillary posterior superior repositioning. The cephalometric tracings were compared statistically by evaluating the study group preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at a long-term follow-up appointment. The results indicate that there is a statistical difference in certain important measurements between normal persons and preoperative apertognathic patients with the deformity identified in the dentoalveolar complex of the maxilla. Posterior maxillary superior repositioning tends to correct this skeletal deformity, with postoperative measurements approaching the normal values. The correction proved to be stable over a mean follow-up period of 19 months (range, 7 to 30 months).