Comparison of Gonial Angle and Alveolar Bone Height Changes in Panoramic and Lateral Cephalometry Radiography in Growing Patients

Background: This study aimed to compare the gonial angle and alveolar bone height changes between panoramic and lateral cephalometry radiographic images in class II malocclusion patients before and after orthodontic treatment. Methods: The obtained radiographic images were selected from among 120 class 2 malocclusion cases. The gonial angle and alveolar bone height were measured in the midline and molar regions of panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiographs using the software tools before and after the treatment of patients. Study data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software (version 21.0), and a significance level was set to 0.05 for all statistical tests. Results: Based on the results, no significant difference was found regarding the gonial angle before and after treatment on the right and left sides in panoramic radiography and the gonial angle changes before and after treatment in cephalometric radiography (P>0.05). However, the obtained results for posterior and anterior alveolar ridge height were significant in panoramic and cephalometric radiographs (P<0.05). Moreover, the comparison of the measured gonial angle values before treatment in panoramic and cephalometric radiography represented a significant level (P<0.05). Eventually, the statistical results suggested that the alveolar bone height differences between panoramic and cephalometry radiography were significantly different in both anterior and posterior regions after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusions: The findings indicated that only measurements obtained from the panoramic radiography were valid for the gonial angle. However, panoramic and cephalometry radiography procedures cannot be replaced for assessing the anterior and posterior alveolar bone height.