RESUMO
The diagnosis of transverse growth deficit of the maxilla in daily clinical practice is carried out mainly through the experience of a well-trained clinician, which implies a lack of objective criteria applicable in a protocolized manner. The objective of this study was to establish a mathematical method to diagnose maxillary compression in relation to the dimensions of the skull and mandible. Methods: Records of 97 cases with an overall mean age of 9.8 ± 2.6 years were analyzed by three experienced orthodontists. The group of transverse compression was comprised of 62 cases and the control group of 35 cases. The main measurements of the widths were made on a frontal teleradiography of the skull (cranial, zygomatic, orbital, maxillary, bigonial and biantegonial width) and a lateral teleradiography of the skull (facial axis, mandibular plane, SNA, SNB, ANB and Wits). It was established that from the cranial width it is possible to predict the group to which each subject studied belongs-the compression group or the control group. A mathematical formula was obtained in the form of logistic regression that allows for the diagnosis of the presence of maxillary compression based on the cranial, maxillary and orbital widths with a sensitivity of 88.7% and a specificity of 77.1%.