A Geometric Classification of Jaw Deformities

• Published in: Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery Vol. 73; no. 12; pp. S26 - S31
• Main Authors: Gateno, Jaime, DDS, MD, Alfi, David, DDS, MD, Xia, James J., MD, PhD, MS, Teichgraeber, John F., MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Dental Arch - abnormalities; Dentistry; Facial Asymmetry - classification; Goldenhar Syndrome - classification; Humans; Jaw - pathology; Jaw Abnormalities - classification; Jaw Abnormalities - pathology; Malocclusion - classification; Mandible - abnormalities; Mathematics; Maxilla - abnormalities; Prognathism - classification; Retrognathia - classification; Skull Base - pathology; Surgery; Terminology as Topic; Tooth Abnormalities - classification
• ISSN: 0278-2391; 1531-5053
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joms.2015.05.019

In the United States, the most widely used classification system for jaw deformities is the one provided by the International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification (ICD-CM), a taxonomy scheme that is based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The last iteration of ICD-CM, version 10, sorts jaw deformities according to geometry, into 3 groups: anomalies of jaw size, anomalies of jaw-cranial base relationship, or unspecified. Yet these deformities can affect 6 different geometric attributes: size, position, orientation, shape, symmetry, and completeness. In clinical practice and in teaching we have found the ICD-CM classification to be incomplete and disjointed. With this in mind, we have developed a better classification system. The purpose of this paper is to present it.