Accuracy of Gonial Angle Measurements Using Panoramic Imaging versus Lateral Cephalograms in Adults with Different Mandibular Divergence Patterns

Nada E Tashkandi; Najla Hamad Alnaqa; Naif M Al-Saif; Eman Allam

doi:10.2147/JMDH.S463688

Accuracy of Gonial Angle Measurements Using Panoramic Imaging versus Lateral Cephalograms in Adults with Different Mandibular Divergence Patterns

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2024 May 1:17:1923-1929. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S463688. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Nada E Tashkandi¹, Najla Hamad Alnaqa², Naif M Al-Saif³, Eman Allam⁴

Affiliations

¹ Preventative Department, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Basic Dental Science Department, Oral and Dental Research Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Introduction: Gonial angle is an important craniofacial parameter providing information about symmetry and vertical dimensions of the facial skeleton. It can be measured on panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms. Reliable assessment of the gonial angle is challenged by the superimpositions associated with lateral cephalograms. The aim of the current study was to assess the precision of panoramic imaging in measuring the gonial angles compared to lateral cephalograms in adult patients with different mandibular divergence patterns.

Methods: Panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms of 448 adults (18-30 years old) were utilized in the study. The gonial angle was determined on the lateral cephalograms using an online AI-driven assessment tool (WebCeph^TM) and compared to the panoramic measurements among the different gender, malocclusion, and mandibular divergence groups.

Results: Statistically significant differences were recorded between measurements taken on lateral cephalograms or panoramic radiographs (p=0.022). In addition, statistically significant differences were reported in gonial angle measurements on panoramic radiographs among the different mandibular divergence groups (p=0.004) for FMA (p=0.002) for Sn-GoMe.

Conclusion: While cephalometry is considered the gold standard tool for reliable gonial angle assessment, panoramic radiographs were more accurate in detecting the differences between the divergence groups in the current study.

Keywords: cephalometry; gonial angle; mandibular divergence; panoramic radiography.