A Geometric Classification of Jaw Deformities

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.