The Verification of the Degree of Concordance of the SMI/CVMS Indexes in Evaluating the Pubertal Growth Stages—Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The research aims to verify the concordance between the skeletal maturity index (SMI) measured on the hand and wrist X-rays using Fishman method and the cervical vertebral maturation stage (CVMS), measured on the lateral cephalometric X-rays using Baccetti method. The concordance of the two indexes (SMI and CVMS) has been statistically verified with the help of the Cohen’s kappa coefficient, by relating them to the growth stages, within a longitudinal study done upon a group of 38 patients, 22 female and 16 male, aged between 8–18 y, the analyzed investigations being done in series, along the orthodontic treatment. The research showed a strong correlation between the SMI and CVMS indexes within the analyzed group, confirmed by the obtained values (k = 0.84 for female and k = 0.85 for male).