MANDIBULAR GROWTH DIRECTION WITH CONVENTIONAL CLASS-II NONEXTRACTION TREATMENT

The purposes of this study were (1) to compare the direction of mandibular growth (MGD) during treatment and retention for a group of treated Class II patients with untreated controls, and (2) to investigate the relationship between the MGD during treatment and the pretreatment skeletal structure. Pretreatment, posttreatment, and 2 years posttreatment lateral cephalograms of 26 Class II, Division 1 subjects who were treated "nonextraction" with low- or straight-pull headgears were compared with an untreated control group of 15 subjects. Mandibular growth direction was interpreted as the movement of the point gnathion relative to the S-N line when successive tracings were superimposed on the S-N line at S. On average, MGD appeared more vertical during treatment. Posttreatment MGD was generally more horizontal than that during treatment but was also extremely variable. Three of the pretreatment skeletal measures studied, especially the articular angle (SArGo), were significantly related to MGD during treatment. The inclination of the mandibular ramus is apparently an important indicator of how mandibular growth will respond to Class II treatment mechanics.