In a study at the University of Gottingen, Germany, lateral head films of 200 Class II patients (106 females, 94 males) with a mean pretreatment age range of 9.9 to 10.25 years successfully treated with functional orthodontics were analyzed before (T1) and after (T2) treatment. The resulting data and findings were compared with lateral head films (T1, T2) of 20 patients (15 females, five males) with a mean pretreatment age of 25.75 years whose Class II malocclusion and antero-posterior jaw discrepancy had been corrected by a mandibular sagittal split advancement osteotomy.
The researchers concluded, “For the orthognathic surgery group, a clear improvement in the dental and skeletal relationship was observed. The skeletal discrepancies in the A-P plane were completely corrected (ANB, Wits) and the inclination of the incisors according to biomechanical and functional aspects was optimized (beta’, mu).The alteration in both the Index and ML-NL angle in this group indicated an increase of the open bite components.”
Lohrmann and colleagues published their study in The European Journal of Orthodontics.
