Maturation stages of the sutures in the median palatine evaluated with cone-beam computed tomography

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of age, sex, and facial growth patterns on the maturation stage of midpalatal sutures. We selected 90 total skull cone-beam computed tomography scans and divided them into the following 3 groups: brachyfacial (n=30), mesofacial (n=30), and dolichofacial (n=30). These groups were determined using Ricketts VERT 3-dimensional cephalometric analysis. All patients were aged ≥18years and were divided into those aged≥30years and>30years. The maturational stage of the median palatine sutures was determined by evaluating the central transverse axial dimension in the maxillary-mandibular palate. Maturational stages were classified as A, B, C, D, and E. Of the 90 images reviewed, 55 (61.1%) were female patients, and 35 were male patients (38.9%). The age of patients ranged from 18 to 59years, with 55 patients aged<30years (61.1%) and 35 aged≥30years (38.9%). Regarding the maturational stages, 3.3% of brachyfacial, 6.7% of mesiofacial, and 16.7% of dolichofacial subjects (P=0.032) were classified as stages B and C. The patients' facial patterns were found to be a significant signal for the maturation stage of midpalatal sutures. Adult dolichofacial patients are the most likely to have stage B and C.