A practical method for determining pubertal growth spurt

Introduction: It is important to evaluate skeletal maturation in orthodontic treatment. Hand-wrist and cervical maturation stages have been shown to be correlated with skeletal growth changes during puberty. The cervical vertebrae have 6 maturation phases, whereas the medial phalange of the third finger has 5 stages; a modified version has 6 stages. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of the cervical vertebrae maturation index with the modified medial phalange index. Methods: Lateral cephalometric and left-hand medial phalange radiographs of 150 males between the ages of 9 and 19 who were referred for orthodontic treatment were examined. Results: The 6 modified medial phalange stages were found to correlate with the 6 cervical vertebral maturation stages. Conclusions: Because cervical vertebrae stage is a reliable maturation indicator, the medial phalange of the third finger can be used instead to assess a subject's skeletal maturation.