Maturação esquelética numa população portuguesa – comparação entre maturação da mão e punho e vértebras cervicais

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between chronological age, cervical vertebral maturation and hand‐wrist maturation in a Portuguese population. Methods285 hand‐wrist and lateral cephalometric radiographs of Portuguese subjects, aged between 7 to 16 years, were randomly selected and analyzed. The cervical vertebral skeletal maturation was assessed using the method developed by Baccetti and collaborators and the hand‐wrist skeletal maturation was assessed using the method developed by Grave and Brown. These two methods data and the chronological age were correlated using the Spearman rank‐order correlation coefficient. ResultsThe cervical vertebral maturation was significantly correlated with the hand‐wrist maturation (male rs=0.806, female rs=0.803). Strong correlations were also found between the cervical vertebral maturation and chronological age (male rs=0.778; female rs=0.788) and between the hand‐wrist maturation and chronological age (male rs=0.820; female rs=0.847). ConclusionsThese results suggest that cervical vertebral maturation method and hand‐wrist skeletal maturation method have a strong statistical correlation in Portuguese subjects. Therefore is appropriate the use of the cervical vertebral maturation method in daily orthodontic practice when treating Portuguese patients. In the same way, the strong correlation between chronological age and both hand‐wrist skeletal maturation indicators and cervical vertebral maturation stages suggest that, within certain limits, chronological age might be used to determine the skeletal stage of a given Portuguese subject.