THE ACCURACY OF VIDEO IMAGING FOR MIXED DENTITION AND ADOLESCENT TREATMENT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of computerized video imaging in predicting the soft tissue outcome of growth modific ation treatment for skeletal Class II malocclusions. Pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric and facial photographic records of 22 mixe d dentition (8 to 10 years old) and 20 adolescent (12 to 14 years old) patients were digitized, and the known outcomes were compared with co mputer-generated VTOs and video images. The predicted video images wer e found to be reasonably accurate for the mixed dentition group, but u nacceptable for the adolescent group. When graded by a panel of judges , orthodontists were far more critical of the findings than their lay counterparts. These results emphasize the potential of video imaging a s a communication medium, rather than as a diagnostic tool for growing patients.