AIM: The present study aimed to propose a method for classification of long-face patients according to severity, evaluating its reliability and reproducibility. METHODS: The study was conducted on facial photographs (frontal, profile and smiling frontal) of 125 long-face children (54 females and 71 males) aged 10 years and 6 months to 15 years and 2 months, selected only on the basis of facial morphology. The photographs were separately evaluated by three examiners and re-evaluated after three weeks in a different random order. The individuals were divided into three subtypes according to severity as mild, moderate and severe. Intra- and inter-examiner agreement was assessed by Kappa (k) statistics. RESULTS: Intra-examiner evaluation revealed substantial agreement, with Kappa values ranging from 0.64 to 0.66 and 80% or more agreement for all examiners. Evaluation of inter-examiner agreement revealed lower values, ranging from 67.2% to 70.4%, with Kappa values of 0.41 to 0.46, thus indicating moderate agreement. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, the method was regarded as applicable, yet it should be complemented with further information from other examinations routinely applied in Orthodontics. Clinical application will be demonstrated to highlight the different degrees of severity of long face pattern malocclusions and the characteristics of the recommended treatment protocol.
Long face pattern; Deformities; Orthodontic diagnosis.; Facial analysis; Severity
