Mandibular vertical asymmetry in adult orthodontic patients with different vertical growth patterns: A cone beam computed tomography study

Objective: To evaluate condylar and ramal vertical asymmetry in adult orthodontic patients with different vertical growth patterns and a clinically normal sagittal skeletal pattern using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of 101 adult orthodontic patients (48 men and 53 women) divided into three groups according to their vertical growth patterns: high (33 patients; mean age, 25.06 +/- 6.05 years), low- (34 patients; mean age, 24.88 +/- 5.22 years), and normal-angle (34 patients; mean age, 24.14 +/- 4.26 years) groups. Condylar, ramal, condylar plus ramal height, and index measurements were performed using CBCT images and analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey tests. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in height measurements between right and left sides in each group, except a slight difference of approximately 0.5 mm for condylar height (CH) in the low-angle group (P < .05). No statistically significant gender differences were found for the values (P > .05). In the high-angle group, the ramal height (RH) and condylar plus ramal height (CH + RH) on both sides were found to be less than those of the low- (P < .001) and normal-angle groups (P < .017 and P > .017, respectively), and the asymmetry index values were slightly higher than those of the low- and normal-angle groups (P > .05). Conclusions: The high-angle group showed statistically significantly smaller values of RH and CH + RH on both sides and statistically insignificantly higher asymmetry index values than the low and normal-angle groups.