title: The cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM) method cannot predict craniofacial growth in girls with Class II malocclusion.
abstract: The cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM) method is used to determine the timing of treatment of Class II malocclusion. Because its performance has not been tested in patients with Class II, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the CVM method in predicting craniofacial growth in Class II malocclusion.
  
  
  
  Twenty-nine untreated girls with Class II malocclusion were identified among participants of the Nijmegen Growth Study. Each girl had a series of cephalograms taken semi-annually from 9 to 14 years of age. The CVM status was established by five observers on a cephalogram taken at 9 years; mandibular and maxillary length and anterior face height were assessed on all available cephalograms. Method error was evaluated with kappa statistics and Bland-Altman (BA) plots. Regression analysis was used to determine if CVM grade can predict the amount of facial growth.
  
  
  
  The mean kappa for intra-rater agreement during grading with CVM was 0.36 (fair agreement). BA plots demonstrated acceptable agreement for cephalometric measurements. The regression analysis demonstrated that the only chronologic age was associated with the facial growth. The largest effect of age was for condylion-gnathion (Cd-Gn) and articulare-gnathion (Ar-Gn)-for every additional 6 months the Cd-Gn increases by 1.8mm [95 per cent confidence interval (CI): 1.7, 1.9, P < 0.001] and Ar-Gn increases by 1.59mm (95 per cent CI: 1.52, 1.67, P < 0.001). The CVM grade could not predict the change of cephalometric variables.
  
  
  
  There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that the CVM method can predict the amount of craniofacial growth in girls with Class II malocclusion.
authors: *Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Thomas P
authors: TP
authors: Engel
authors: Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Anne-Marie
authors: AM
authors: Renkema
authors: *Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Christos
authors: C
authors: Katsaros
authors: *Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Pawel
authors: P
authors: Pazera
authors: *Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Pandis
authors: *Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Switzerland, piotr.fudalej@zmk.unibe.ch.|Department of Orthodontics, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors: Piotr S
authors: PS
authors: Fudalej
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008334:Mandible / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D008445:Maxillofacial Development / Q000502:physiology; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results