Three-dimensional study of different skeletal craniofacial patterns from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century in a Portuguese population

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the most frequent skeletal craniofacial pattern.

Methods: Cone beam computed tomography images were obtained for a sample of 332 skulls from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A sample of 150 individuals from the twenty-first century was also included. The different skeletal craniofacial patterns were then classified into subclasses according to Slavicek´s method.

Results: Over the centuries, skeletal Class II malocclusion has been more prevalent, mainly in the nineteenth century. The skeletal Class I subclass neutral maxilla and neutral mandible (N-N) has presented higher values since the nineteenth century (above 60%), and the skeletal Class II subclass prognathic maxilla and neutral mandible (P-N) have been increasing.

Conclusion: In the Portuguese population, the most common skeletal pattern was skeletal Class II malocclusion. From the nineteenth to twenty-first century, there is an increase in the value of skeletal Class I malocclusion, and subclass N-N is undoubtedly the most frequent.

KEYWORDS:

• Human skull
• skeletal craniofacial patterns
• cone beam computed tomography

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Ludwig-Slavicek Foundation, to the Department of Life Sciences at University of Coimbra Portugal, to Professor H. Cardoso (Natural History Museum of Lisbon), to the postgraduate students (skull project) involved in the data collection process, especially M. Tanaka, O. Takeda, and S. Kishimoto, and to the members of the orthodontic department and to Professors J. Freitas and L. Lourenço.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study received no funding.