An evaluation of the mean cephalometric values for orthognathic surgery for black South African adults. Part 1: Hard tissue.

Maxillofacial and oral surgeons and orthodontists are currently treating an increasing number of black South African patients needing orthognathic surgical procedures. Surgical and orthodontic cephalometric analyses developed for caucasian populations has been shown to be inadequate for other racial groups (Connor and Moshiri, 1985, Briedenhann and Roos, 1988 and Flynn, Ambriogio and Zeichner, 1989). The purpose of this study was to evaluate mean measurements for black South African adults which would be comparable in diagnosis and treatment planning, to the analyses of Burstone et al., (1978) and Legan and Burstone (1980), known as Cephalometrics for Orthognathic Surgery (COGS). Lateral cephalometric radiographs of 15 male and 15 female black South African adults were evaluated for both hard and soft tissue measurements according to parameters of the COGS analyses. The results of this study showed that the cephalometric measurements established for North American caucasians by Burstone et al., (1978) and Legan and Burstone (1980) were at variance to those measurements found in a black South African population group. Thus orthodontic and orthognathic surgical treatment planning for black South Africans may be more relevant if the diagnosis is based on standard measurements specific for this particular racial group.