A cephalometric study to investigate the skeletal relationships in patients with increasing severity of hypodontia

Abstract Objectives: To determine the skeletal relationships in patients with hypodontia and analyze the effects of severity and pattern. Materials and Methods: Pretreatment lateral cephalograms from 277 patients with hypodontia, categorized by the number of missing teeth as mild (1–2), moderate (3–5), or severe (≥6), were digitized recording angular measurements and ratios and compared with published norms matched for age and gender. Pattern was determined as mandibular, maxillary, bimaxillary, bilateral, anterior, posterior, and anteroposterior. Linear regression models assessed relationships between number of missing teeth and cephalometric parameters, controlling for the pattern of hypodontia. Results: For every additional missing tooth, SNA, SNB, and ANB decreased 0.3°, 0.1°, and 0.2°, respectively; this was clinically significant for >4, >10, and >5 missing teeth, respectively. Mandibular to cranial base ratio decreased 0.3% for every additional missing tooth; this was clinically significant for >10...