Roentgencephalometric standards for the facial skeleton and soft tissue profile of Swedish children and young adults. II. Comparisons with earlier Scandinavian normative data

The purpose of this report is to compare a Swedish so-called normal material (Thilander et al.1983) with previously presented normal materials of Scandinavian origin and with standards for parameters in some frequently used roentgencephalometric systems. The material comprises Swedish children and young adults who fulfil special criteria of normal occlusion and harmonius skeletal relations and in whom roentgencephalometric data were collected. Parts of the material here reported are designated the 10-, 13- and 16-year-old groups. Comparison of the cephalometric data for the age-group 10 years in our material and a previously presented Norwegian normal material (Humerfelt 1970) showed remarkably good agreement for both angular and linear measurements in both sexes. Good agreement was also found between angular measurements in the 16-year-old group and those presented by Werner(1954) for Swedish 13-16-year-old children, but there seem to be differences for certain mandibular parameters. Comparison with data for 12-year-old Swedish boys with varying occlusion, presented by Björk(1947), reveals differences for several angular mandibular measurements. The highly significant differences between the linear measurements in the two materials are probably partly explained by age differences but also tend to corroborate the indications of differences in skeletal pattern suggested by the angular measurements, which are due to the selection criteria. Finally, comparison with the Bergen norms for the straight face (Hasund 1973) shows that the agreement is generally acceptable for angular measurements and the standards may be considered sufficiently reliable for use in clinical orthodontics. They should be supplemental with the age-related variations, however.