Clinical and Investigative Orthodontics · Published 2026-07-12 · DOI 10.1080/27705781.2026.2701557
Alessia Dell’Oro, Elisa Boccalari, Marco Serafin, Alberto Caprioglio
Purpose To investigate the correlation between skeletal divergence, expressed by the SN-MP plane angle, and soft-tissue divergence, represented by the TrSe-MP plane angle, within a hybrid three-dimensional cephalometric protocol.Materials and methods A total of 285 full field of view CBCT scans from orthodontic patients meeting specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were retrospectively analysed. Skeletal landmarks (Nasion, Sella, Gonion, Menton) and cutaneous landmarks (Sellion, bilateral Tragus) were manually identified using 3D Slicer. For each subject, SN-MP and TrSe-MP plane angles were calculated. Data distribution was verified using the Shapiro – Wilk test; correlations were assessed with Spearman’s and Kendall’s coefficients, and modelled by linear regression.Results Both variables showed non-Gaussian distributions. After outlier removal, 281 measurements were analysed. A strong positive correlation was found between SN-MP and TrSe-MP (ρ = 0.86; τ = 0.68; p < 0.001). The regression equation was TrSe-MP = 0.88 × SN-MP + 20.00, with a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.83), supporting the role of the TrSe plane as a complementary indicator of mandibular divergence.Conclusions The TrSe-MP plane angle, defined by cutaneous landmarks, may provide an adjunctive indicator of mandibular divergence. This hybrid 3D cephalometric method enables assessment of mandibular divergence with minimized radiation exposure, consistent with international radioprotection principles, and may serve as a complementary tool within low-dose cephalometric workflows.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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Dell’Oro, A., Boccalari, E., Serafin, M., et al. (2026). Hybrid three-dimensional cephalometry: correlation analysis between skeletal and soft-tissue divergence. Clinical and Investigative Orthodontics. https://doi.org/10.1080/27705781.2026.2701557