The diagnosis of transverse growth deficit of the maxilla in daily clinical practice is carried
out mainly through the experience of a well-trained clinician, which implies a lack of objective criteria
applicable in a protocolized manner. The objective of this study was to establish a mathematical
method to diagnose maxillary compression in relation to the dimensions of the skull and mandible.
Methods: Records of 97 cases with an overall mean age of 9.8 2.6 years were analyzed by three
experienced orthodontists. The group of transverse compression was comprised of 62 cases and the
control group of 35 cases. Themainmeasurements of the widths weremade on a frontal teleradiography
of the skull (cranial, zygomatic, orbital, maxillary, bigonial and biantegonial width) and a lateral
teleradiography of the skull (facial axis,mandibular plane, SNA, SNB, ANB andWits). It was established
that from the cranial width it is possible to predict the group to which each subject studied belongs—the
compression group or the control group. A mathematical formula was obtained in the form of logistic
regression that allows for the diagnosis of the presence of maxillary compression based on the cranial,
maxillary and orbital widths with a sensitivity of 88.7% and a specificity of 77.1%.
