The aetiology of Class III malocclusion examined by tensor analysis.

This study compares and contrasts the differences in facial pattern between groups of young people, employing a modified tensor analysis. One-hundred-and-thirty-eight children with Class III malocclusions were compared with 105 control individuals of similar ages: 126 subjects were prepubertal (age range 7 to 10 years), whilst the remaining 117 were between 15 and 22 years of age. Males and females were examined separately. The tensor analysis permitted the computation of differences in form (that is in size and shape) without specifically measuring either. Mean values for 18 conventional cephalometric landmarks were determined for each sub-group of control and Class III individuals. Customized programs were developed to assess the differences between 23 triads of points between the two occlusal groups.