Subclassification of Skeletal Class II Malocclusion of Korean Adults Using Cluster Analysis

Skeletal malocclusion is the result of abnormal dimension and alignment of each skeletal component. Understanding on these mechanisms may help to elucidate the etiology of skeletal malocclusion and to establish population-oriented treatment plans. Attempts to subdivide the Angle's classification have been performed for Class III malocclusion, while few studies have been conducted for Class II malocclusion despite recent growing interests in Class II malocclusion. 200 adults (88 male, 112 female) with skeletal Class II malocclusion were collected and subdivided using cluster analysis, using the measurements representing the dimension and the alignment of each facial skeletal component. The properties of each cluster was grouped within the subjects and a comparison between the subjects and the control group (38 male, 35 female) with normal occlusion was performed. Six clusters were finally recognized in each male and female groups. The clusters in both genders were mainly characterized by the cranial base alignment, dimension of the posterior cranial base, dimension of the mandibular ramus and the degree of mandibular rotation. The results implicate that active treatment of mandible rather than the nasomaxillary complex may be primarily considered for the correction of Korean Class II skeletal pattern.ope