RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Facial growth in the vertical dimension is the last to be completed and can often be detrimental to the success of dental implants, orthodontic treatment, and orthognathic surgery that young individuals undergo. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between changes in total anterior facial height and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels measured using blood-spot samples. METHODS: Our sample included 25 orthodontic patients from whom we had access to annual lateral cephalometric radiographs and IGF-1 measurements. Each subject was observed between 2 and 6 times, resulting in 43 annual intervals from a total of 77 observations. RESULTS: We noted a significant moderate positive correlation (+ 0.48) between the percentage of change in blood-spot IGF-1 levels and the percentage of change in total anterior face height (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Longitudinal changes in IGF-1 levels can be used to predict a patient's vertical facial growth. There was no significant correlation between changes in vertical facial development and a single cross-sectional IGF-1 measurement.