Craniofacial characteristics of children with mild hypodontia.
BACKGROUND
The aim of our study was to evaluate the craniofacial characteristics of children with mild hypodontia using conventional and principal component (PC) analysis.


METHODS
We used radiographic images of 124 children (8-12 years old) with up to 4 missing teeth (55 boys, 69 girls) and of 676 reference children (365 boys, 311 girls) from the Rotterdam Generation R Study and the Nijmegen Growth Study in The Netherlands. Fifteen cephalometric measurements of children with hypodontia were compared with those of the reference children. Moreover, cephalometric parameters were combined into standardized PC scores using PC analysis, and the components were compared between the 2 groups.


RESULTS
PC analysis showed common dental characteristics for all types of hypodontia: a significant increase of the interincisal angle, and decreases of the maxillary and mandibular incisor angles. Other findings were consistent when both methods were applied: (1) anterior hypodontia was significantly associated with the high-angle (hyperdivergent) craniofacial pattern, (2) the tendency toward a Class III malocclusion was identified in maxillary hypodontia, and (3) we observed a significant reduction of lower posterior facial height in children with posterior and mandibular hypodontia.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that children with mild hypodontia have distinctive skeletal and dental features.
Postgraduate student, Generation R Study Group, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Special Dental Care and Orthodontics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: s.vucic@erasmusmc.nl.
Strahinja
S
Vucic
Postgraduate student, Generation R Study Group, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Special Dental Care and Orthodontics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Brunilda
B
Dhamo
Assistant professor, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Mette A R
MA
Kuijpers
Professor, Generation R Study Group, Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Vincent W V
VW
Jaddoe
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Albert
A
Hofman
Professor, Generation R Study Group, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Special Dental Care and Orthodontics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Eppo B
EB
Wolvius
Senior researcher, Generation R Study Group, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Special Dental Care and Orthodontics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Edwin M
EM
Ongkosuwito
D000848:Anodontia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008313:Malocclusion, Angle Class III / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009426:Netherlands; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012016:Reference Values; D063173:Retrognathia / Q000175:diagnosis*