Mandibular movement characteristics in patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion during maximum open-close mandibular movements

Objective To investigate the mandibular movement characteristics in patients with skeletal Class Ⅲ malocclusion during maximum open-close mandibular movements.Methods Twenty-four skeletal Class Ⅲ adult patients and 10 normal controls were included.The different condylar and incisor movements were examined based on the aid of ARCUSdigma mandibular moving track analysis system.Results The condylar movement in sagittal plane was significantly different between skeletal Class Ⅲ adult patients and normal controls(P0.01).The incisor movement was significantly different in sagittal,coronal and horizontal planes between the two groups(P0.05).Conclusion The condylar tracing length of skeletal class Ⅲ adult patients was significantly shorter than that of normal controls only in sagittal plane,while the incisor movement of skeletal Class Ⅲ adult patients was larger than normal controls in three planes.