Re: Mandibular growth comparisons of Class I and Class II division 1 skeletofacial patterns by Helder B. Jacob, Peter H. Buschang. The Angle Orthod. 2014;84:755–761.

To: Editor, The Angle Orthodontist

I would like to congratulate the authors of the study for their attempt to shed light on the differences in growth of the mandible between Class I and Class II subjects. I have a few questions regarding case selection. I believe that the Class II sample should have been limited to those with mandibular retrusion. Class II malocclusion in general can be attributed to maxillary protrusion, mandibular retrusion, or a combination of both.1,2,3 Therefore, the sample in this study could have had a skeletal discrepancy attributed to either the maxilla, mandible or both. It may be possible that the difference is negligible between Class II subjects with excessive maxillary growth along with a normal mandible, and those with Class I relationships. Do you think the outcome would have been different if only Class II subjects with a deficient mandible were used in this study?