An improved version of the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) method for the assessment of mandibular growth.

The present study aimed to provide a version of the Cervical Vertebral Maturation (CVM) method for the detection of the peak in mandibular growth based on the analysis of the second through fourth cervical vertebrae in a single cephalogram. The morphology of the bodies of the second (odontoid process, C2), third (C3), and fourth (C4) cervical vertebrae were analyzed in six consecutive cephalometric observations (T1 through T6) of 30 orthodontically untreated subjects. Observations for each subject consisted of two consecutive cephalograms comprising the interval of maximum mandibular growth (as assessed by means of the maximum increment in total mandibular length, Co-Gn), together with two earlier consecutive…