Ethnic Deviation of Northeastern Andhra Population from Standard Cephalometrics for Orthognathic Surgery - A Comparative Study.

Introduction: The assessment of dentofacial aesthetics depends on a proportionately aligned dentition in a well-balanced skeletal base and the soft-tissue envelope, which can be determined using cephalometric analysis. The craniofacial features amongst various ethnic groups vary as compared to other populations. Hence, this study was carried out to meet the requirement for developing customised cephalometric norms for the Northeastern Andhra Pradesh, Dravidian race population. The aim of this study was to verify the ethnic deviation of cephalometrics from standard cephalometrics for orthognathic surgery (COGS) Burstone's analysis in the Northeastern Andhra Population.

Materials and methods: The subjects were drawn from the population of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam. The data comprised 110 participants (55 males and 55 females) with Class I dental and skeletal profiles who reported to our college's Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The four clinicians used COGS Burstone analysis to trace the cephalograms and agreement was reached manually. The sample's average age and standard deviation were 22.5 ± 2.5.

Results: Statistically significant differences were found with the parameters of the cranial base, vertical skeletal and dental and maxillomandibular measurements in the Northeastern Andhra population with reference to Caucasians.

Discussion: This study analysed the cephalometric mean values of the population of Northeastern Andhra Pradesh and concluded that it was lower than those of Caucasians in most parameters. The data gathered aid in the development of individualised norms for various ethnic populations, as well as the implementation of a systematic treatment plan.