The European Journal of Orthodontics Advance Access originally published online on October 17, 2005
The European Journal of Orthodontics 2006 28(2):152-165; doi:10.1093/ejo/cji084
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Craniofacial changes in Icelandic children between 6 and 16 years of age – a longitudinal study
Faculty of Odontology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
Address for correspondence Arni Thordarson, Faculty of Odontology, Vatnsmyrarvegi 16, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland, E-mail: ath{at}centrum.is
The aim of the present study was to describe the craniofacial changes between 6 and 16 years of age in a sample of Icelandic children. Complete sets of lateral cephalometric radiographs were available from 95 males and 87 females. Twenty-two reference points were digitized and processed by standard methods, using the Dentofacial Planner® computer software program. Thirty-three angular and linear variables were calculated, including: basal sagittal and vertical measurements, facial ratio, and dental, cranial base and mandibular measurements.
For the angular measurements, gender differences were not statistically different for any of the measurements, in either age group, except for the variable s–n–na, which was larger in the 16-year-old boys (P 
0.001). Linear variables were consistently larger in the boys compared with the girls at both age levels. During the observation period mandibular prognathism increased but the basal sagittal jaw relationship, the jaw angle, the mandibular plane angle and cranial base flexure (n–s–ba) decreased in both genders (P 0.001). Maxillary prognathism increased only in the boys from 6 to 16 years. Inclination of the lower incisors and all the cranial base dimensions increased in both genders during the observation period. When the Icelandic sample was compared with a similar Norwegian sample, small differences could be noted in the maxillary prognathism, mandibular plane angle and in the inclination of the maxilla. Larger differences were identified in the inclination of the lower incisors. These findings could be used as normative cephalometric standards for 6- and 16-year-old Icelandic children.