[Interceptive treatments for deformities in the vertical dimension].
Vertical dimension deformities result from an interference of multiple etiological factors acting during the growth period. They include maxillary and mandibular growth, dento-alveolar compensations as well as the functional environment. These deformities do not work in total isolation, but usually combine with others present in sagittal and transverse dimensions. Our intervention has to be three-dimensional and take into consideration the interaction of the three dimensions of space. It must address soft tissue components as well as the dento-alveolar and the skeletal ones of the maxilla and the mandible. Interceptive treatment of vertical dimension deformities rests on two pillars: the diagnosis and therapeutics. The diagnostic pillar aims to show how different structures relate to each other as well as with neighboring structures. These structures consist of the soft tissue components that will eventually control the smile, the dento-alveolar component that influences occlusal plane inclination and the skeletal component that determines the vertical facial type. Using this analysis, we classify our patients in categories that facilitate our later therapeutic intervention. The therapeutic pillar is constructed in an attempt to find solutions for the list of problems established during diagnosis and to encourage development of logical individualized thinking, independently of the orthodontic technique used. All of this underlines the importance of choosing an Individualized Orthodontic Therapy based upon concepts that respond to different individual clinical situations and work most effectively to achieve treatment objectives.