title: An evaluation of conventional cephalometric appraisals.
abstract: Although lateral cephalographic diagnosis is central to craniofacial skeletal assessment, their classification (categorization) remains largely empiric. In this study, pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalographic dimensional arrays were subjected to the classic numerical taxonomic technique of cluster analysis. The resultant patient groupings (clusters) were not only inconsistent with respect to their Angle malocclusion categories, but also the composition of each cluster group varies depending upon the dimensional arrays analyzed. These findings demonstrate that lateral cephalometric categorization remains largely subjective.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lavelle
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Backman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging