Morphology of the facial skeleton in patients with oligodontia of the permanent dentition

Introduction
In patients with oligodontia of the permanent dentition, changes in the shape and dimensions of the palate, dental arches and malocclusion are observed. Changes in the craniofacial morphology are also described, and they are most evident in patients in whom oligodontia is one of the symptoms of ectodermal dysplasia.

Aim
The aim of the study was to assess the craniofacial morphology in patients with oligodontia of the permanent dentition based on selected parameters from the cephalometric analysis.

Material and methods
The studies were performed in 123 patients with oligodontia, aged 9 to 39 years old. Craniofacial morphology was assessed based on the cephalometric analysis of teleradiographic images of the head in the lateral projection. The following parameters were examined: SNA, SNB and ANB angles, skeletal class depending on the ANB value, facial type depending on the SNA value, anterior facial height index and the percentage ratio of posterior to anterior facial height.

Results
Among 123 patients, 57.7% had skeletal class III, 32.5% - class I and 9.8% - skeletal class II. 61.8% had a retrognathic face, 29.3% - orthognathic and 8.9% - prognathic. The deep relation of the index was observed the most often – 49.6%, neutral was less common – 48.8% and the open one was the rarest – 1.6%. Anterior rotation was present in 82.9% of subjects, neutral growth in 13.8%, and posterior rotation in 3.3% of the study patients.

Conclusions
Based on four selected parameters from the cephalometric analysis, 27 types of craniofacial morphology were determined in patients with oligodontia of the permanent dentition. The most common was the retrognathic facial type combined with skeletal class III, lower deep relation of the anterior face height index and anterior rotation. The retrognathic facial type combined with skeletal class III, neutral relation of the anterior face height index and anterior rotation was slightly less common.