Differential diagnosis.

Differential diagnosis enables the orthodontic clinician to completely analyze and study a malocclusion. The differential diagnosis protocol of analyzing the face, the skeletal pattern, and the teeth enables the clinician to ascertain the area with the greatest disharmony, prioritize the attainable objectives, and arrive at a diagnosis and ultimately a treatment plan that will allow him or her to treat the greatest number of attainable objectives. Any differential diagnostic system must be used with an understanding of the concept that there are anterior, posterior, lateral, and vertical limits of the dentition. These boundaries are determined by bone and muscular limitations.