Abstract: Objective: To provide cephalometric floating norms as a means to evaluate individual craniofacial patterns in Shandong adults. Methods: A total of 90 adults with normal occlusion were collected in the Shandong area, including 41 males and 49 females(aged above 18 years). Cephalometric measurements of SNA, SN-PP, NSBa, SN-MP and SNB were selected and analyzed by multiple regression. Results: (1) Correlations among the five measurements were significant, and the strength of the correlation between SNB and the others was the highest; (2) Bivariate linear regression equations were established with SNB as the independent variable; (3) Standard errors of the estimate (SE) for each measurement was calculated by a multiple regression analysis; (4) Finally, cephalometric floating norms as a means to evaluate the craniofacial patterns in Shandong adults were achieved. Conclusion: Cephalometric floating norms provide a useful method for X-ray analysis for adult patients, especially for patients who may undergo orthognathic surgery as part of their overall treatment regimen.

Key words: Cephalometric, Floating norms, Multiple regression