Cephalometric floating norms as a guide toward a harmonious individual craniofacial pattern among filipinos

Abstract

Objective: To construct a harmony box based on correlated cephalometric variables, which may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool in orthodontic treatment planning, by analyzing the harmonious relationships of existing individual craniofacial patterns among Filipinos. Materials and Methods: Eighty-one subjects, 37 females and 44 males, were selected from the student population of a University according to established inclusion criteria. Five cephalometric angular measurements were obtained and digitized. Pearson correlation coefficients described the high association among the five variables. The bivariate linear regression analysis was used to construct a harmony box, which contained the cephalometric floating norms of the five correlated variables. Multiple regression analysis and the standard error of the estimate were calculated to construct the harmony schema, which describes the individual craniofacial pattern. Results: Correlations between the five variables were significant at .001 and .05 levels. Linear regression equations with corresponding r2 and standard error of the estimate (SE) were illustrated as the harmony box. The multiple correlation coefficient R, the adjusted R2, and the SE when one of the five measured variables was predicted from the remaining four by means of a multiple regression analysis were displayed as the harmony schema. Conclusion: The cephalometric floating norms describing the individual craniofacial pattern among Filipinos were established based on five correlated variables in the form of a harmony box. (Angle Orthod. 2009;79:1162-1168.