No abstract

The incidence of a sella turcica bridge in combination with a PITX2 mutation would suspect that sella turcica anomalies are typical symptoms of the syndrome. Sella turcica anomalies in association with craniofacial and dental aberrations, such as maxillary retrognathia, skeletal Class III relationship and hypoplasia of teeth, might be important indicators for ARS caused by PITX2 mutation.

In orthodontic diagnosis, facial symmetry is important. The aim of the present study was to analyse the perception of various degrees of facial asymmetry exhibited by carefully designed virtual three-dimensional (3D) material. Three groups of raters (30 orthodontists, 30 maxillofacial surgeons, and 30 laymen) rated, using a six-point scale, the degree of asymmetry of eight randomly presented 3D faces exhibiting incremental soft tissue alterations. The faces were created by gradually transforming the nose or chin in increments of 2 mm away from the computed symmetry plane. Differences between the groups in analysis of facial asymmetry, the rating of facial stimulus, and right and left facial asymmetry were determined using a t-test. The results demonstrated that raters' profession did not influence the point at which they identified asymmetry. Even laymen were able to detect asymmetries when located near the midline of 3D faces. All raters identified asymmetries of the nose as more negative than those of the same degree of the chin. A left-sided deviation of the nose along the facial symmetry plane lead to a more negative rating of facial appearance, whereas a right-sided deviation of the chin was rated as less attractive. Nasal architecture plays a crucial role in the perception of symmetry. These findings provide clinicians with a greater understanding of how faces are perceived, a process which is of particular interest in treating orthognathic patients, and those with congenital anomalies.

No abstract

Several investigations have analysed the frequency of sella turcica anomalies in patients with severe craniofacial deviations. Until now, there have been no studies concerning the prevalence of sella turcica bridging in homogenous groups of patients. Therefore, the aims of this controlled study were to analyse the prevalence of sella turcica bridging and measure the size of the sella turcica in two well-defined groups of Caucasian individuals. In a multicentre retrospective study, 400 pre-treatment lateral cephalograms of adult patients (over 17 years of age) with a skeletal Class III (n = 250, 132 females and 118 males) or a skeletal Class I (n = 150, 94 females and 56 males) malocclusion were analysed. The morphology, length, depth, and diameter of the sella turcica were investigated. For statistical analysis, chi-square and t-tests were used. Skeletal Class III patients presented a significantly higher rate of sella turcica bridging, 16.8 per cent (P = 0.031), in comparison with skeletal Class I patients, whose rate was 9.4 per cent. No differences between females and males were detected for the length, depth, and diameter of the sella turcica. Bridging of the sella turcica could be seen radiographically in skeletal Class III subjects.