A Cephalometric Evaluation of Sexual Dimorphism of the Angle Sella-Nasion-Frankfort Horizontal Plane in Different Sagittal Classes of Malocclusion in South Indian Population.

Abstract

Aims and Objectives:The present study aims to evaluate the gender dimorphism of the angle SN-FH between the sella-nasion (SN) plane and the Frankfort horizontal (FH) plane among the three types of skeletal malocclusion in South Indian population. The objectives included measurement of angle SN-FH, FH to the nasion (NFH), FH to the sella (SFH), and the difference of NFH and SFH (Δ). The null hypothesis was that there exists no variation of the angle SN-FH, NFH, SFH, and Δ between males and females and in the different skeletal relationship of jaws.Materials and Methods:Cephalometric data were retrieved from the archived records of 180 patients, comprising 90 males and 90 females, within three subgroups. Class I (60), Class II (20), and Class III (10) in each of the gender class were examined. Student's “t” test was used to analyze means of the gender differences and analysis of variance between subgroups, and significance was set at P < 0.05.Results:The average values obtained from this study for the overall population are 8.06 ± 3.34; for males, it is 7.42 ± 3.62, and for females, it is 8.7 ± 3.48. The gender difference is statistically significant only in Class I malocclusion (0.002). There is no statistical difference between different skeletal classes of malocclusion.Conclusion:The null hypothesis is partially rejected for as significant difference is established only for some of the parameters under the study.