COMPARISON OF TWO CRANIAL BASE LENGTHS AND FOUR ANGLES AMONG THREE SAGITTAL SKELETAL BASES IN ADULT POPULATION OF DISTRICT PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Background: Research has shown that cranial base length, flexure and inclination play a role in the skeletal malocclusion in sagittal and vertical dimensions. The objectives of this study were to compare the two cranial base lengths and four angles among three sagittal skeletal bases in adult population of district Peshawar, Pakistan. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Orthodontics, Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Pakistan from February 2020 to March, 2020. Ninety lateral cephalograms were selected for the year 2019 from the database of department, with 30 from each group; Skeletal Class I, II and III. SN length (mm), SBa length (mm), N-S-Ba, N-S-Ar, SN-FH and SBa-FH were our ratio variables and were described by mean, range and SD with 95% CI for mean. Twelve hypotheses were tested each by one-way ANOVA and when it showed significant difference, then by post hoc Dunnett’s t test. Results: Results: The sample included 90 cephalograms; 30 each in Class I, II and III, including 38 men and 52 women with mean age 22.54±5.70 years. SN length (mm) was similar in Class II 68.1±2.15 and Class III 68.7±2.01 to Class I (control) 68.4±1.56 (p=.487). SBa length was similar in Class II 45.5±2.48 and Class III 44.9±2.23 to Class I 44.6±1.76 (p=.281). N-S-Ba angle was similar in Class II 126.7o±2.26 and Class III 127.3o±2.70 to Class I 127.1o±2.22 (p=.614). N-S-Ar angle was significantly greater (p<.0001) in Class II 128.2o±2.45 than Class I 123.3o±1.97, and significantly greater (p=.030) in Class III 124.6o±1.70 than Class I. SN-FH angle was similar (p=.193) in Class II 7.9o±1.32 to Class I 7.4o±1.40 and similar (p=.356) in Class III 7.0o±0.94 to Class I. SBa-FH angle was similar in Class II 57.3o±2.19 and Class III 56.8o±1.45 to Class I 56.1o±1.90 (p=.058). Conclusions: Anterior cranial base length (SN length), posterior cranial base length (SBa length), N-S-Ba angle, SN-FH angle and SBa-FH angle were similar in Skeletal Class II to Class I and in Class III to Class I. N-S-Ar angle was greater in Skeletal Class II than Class I and in Class III than Class 1.