The effect of growth hormone on craniofacial growth and dental maturation in Turner syndrome

Serial cephalometric and panoramic radiographs from a mixed longitudinal group of 28 subjects with Turner syndrome (TS), age 4.4-19.0 years, were evaluated for annualized growth increments of the craniofacial complex and dental development and were compared with a longitudinal control group from the Burlington growth study. The short and retrognathic face characteristic of the syndrome was due largely to the increased cranial base angle, decreased posterior face height, and decreased mandibular length, all of which were significantly different from the controls. Although increases in statural height occurred in the TS children who were treated with human growth hormone (GH), there was little or no effect on growth of the jaws, particularly in the older subjects, and the characteristic facies of the syndrome persisted. Dental development was advanced in all TS subjects, and GH administration had no effect on the rate of dental development.