Pilot study: Mandibular measures in mexican children in Mexico city

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to estimate cephalometric value averages in eight years old Mexican children residents in Mexico City and compare the information with foreign standards. Methods: Four mandibular values and twelve cephalometric measurements from McNamara analysis were determined from lateral head radiographs of 50 girls and 50 boys 8 years-old, with class I occlusion and with no orthodontic or orthopaedic treatment. Results: In the general aspect, boys presented bigger bone structures; girls presented wider upper and lower airway. There were statistically significant differences between boys and girls in: total mandibular length, mandibular corpus length, lower face eight and chin anterior projection. Conclusions: The present study shows that there are significant cephalometric differences between eight years old boys and girls as well as between Italian, American and Mexican samples.