Pubertal growth of the cephalometric point gnathion: multilevel models for boys and girls.

Two-level polynomial models are used to summarize the amount Sella-Gnathion (S-Gn) and direction Nasion-Sella-Gnathion (N-S-Gn) of growth changes for the cephalometric landmark gnathion. Growth descriptions pertain to a mixed longitudinal sample of 209 French-Canadian children 10-15 years of age. The boy's growth curve attains mean minimum prepubertal velocity at 10.8 years and maximum pubertal velocity at 14.1 years. The girl's curve follows a cubic pattern, attaining maximum pubertal velocity at 12.1 years. Boys are larger than girls throughout the age range. Variation between-subjects increases with age in a curvilinear fashion. Growth direction of gnathion is more horizontally directed for girls than boys. Small but significant changes in growth direction occur between 10 and 15 years of age.