Quantification of cranial base growth during pubertal growth.

Objective: To quantify longitudinal cranial base growth from prepubertal through postpubertal stages of development, as defined by biological indicators of individual skeletal maturity (cervical vertebral maturation - CVM) method and to determine if there is sexual dimorphism resulting from cranial base growth.

Design: A longitudinal cephalometric study.

Setting: The Dental School of Paulista University, Brazil.