Abstract: This study was conducted at Faculty of Public Health & Health Informatics, Um-El Qurra University,
Mekkah and Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University, ArAr, KSA. The study aimed to evaluate the age and
sex dependent changes of the craniofacial skeleton during the age period of 7-17 years old. Two hundred 200
children and adolescents (100 males and 100 females) were categorized according to age into 5 equal groups and
underwent postero-anterior (PA) cephalograms using a high resolution (600 dpi), after digitizing the PA landmarks.
The landmark co-ordinates were used to calculate the cranial, bifrontotemporal, bizygomatic, mid-facial, maxillary
skeletal base, bigonial, biantegonial and nasal widths. Measurements of the maxillary and mandibular intermolar
widths were made directly on plaster models with a dial caliper. There was a progressive age-dependent increase of
cranial width with a significant increase in males compared to females and the difference was highly significant in
age group 9-11 years. Bifrontotemporal width despite showed progressive increase with age in both sexes, which was
significant only in older male children compared to females. Bizygomatic width showed a progressive significant
difference with advance of age to peak at 15-17 years old children. Both mid-facial width and maxillary skeletal base
width showed progressive increase with age, which was significant in all age strata being most significant in older
age groups for both variables. Bigonial and biantegonial widths showed non-significant differences between males
and females in all age groups, whereas, nasal width showed progressive significant difference, between males and
females. Both maxillary and mandibular intermolar widths showed progressive significant difference, between males
and females with age. Conclusion: there was a significant change in the transverse craniofacial skeleton with age that
was significantly evident in male measurements compared to female ones |
