Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective: The aim of this study was to compare upper airway widths among skeletal Class I malocclusion subjects with different vertical facial patterns. Methods: The sample included a total of 99 lateral cephalograms of post pubertal individuals (18.19 ± 1.76 years old). The vertical facial pattern was determined by the Vert index. The McNamara method was used to quantify upper airway widths. ANOVA test and Student’s t test for independent groups were used, when normal distribution was not supported Kruskal-Wallis test and U-Mann-Whitney test were used. A multiple linear regression analysis was also performed. Results:Statistically significant differences in several nasopharyngeal widths were found among the distinct vertical facial patterns. Subjects with brachyfacial pattern presented larger nasopharyngeal widths than subjects with mesofacial (p= 0.030) or dolichofacial (p= 0.034) patterns. The larger the Vert value, the larger the nasopharyngeal widths (R2= 26.2%, p< 0.001). At the level of oropharynx no statistically significant differences were found. Conclusion: It was concluded that nasopharyngeal linear anteroposterior widths in Class I malocclusion brachyfacial are larger than in mesofacial and dolichofacial individuals. The Vert index only explained 25% of the total variability. No correlation was found for the oropharyngeal widths.
Highlights
Orthodontics has been long interested in the association between mode of breathing and craniofacial growth.[1,2,3] The pharyngeal structures play an important role during breathing and swallowing functions
Cephalometric analysis is of great importance to evaluate craniofacial growth pattern both for diagnosis and planning of orthodontic treatment, it is crucial for communication among professionals; but cephalometric studies often present different interpretations on the description of vertical facial types, which may lead to distinct therapeutic approaches and different results.[29]
The Vert index, cephalometrically, distinguishes balanced facial growth, predominance of horizontal facial growth and predominance of vertical facial growth by using measures related to the growth direction of the mandible
Summary
Orthodontics has been long interested in the association between mode of breathing and craniofacial growth.[1,2,3] The pharyngeal structures play an important role during breathing and swallowing functions. The pharynx can be anatomically separated in nasopharynx and oropharynx. It has been proposed that they may vary in dimensions based on orthopedic therapy[4] or craniofacial growth.[5,6]. Morphological upper airway obstructive processes are factors that can lead into a partial or total upper airway obstruction. When that happens the resulting functional imbalance could lead into a significant mouth-breathing pattern, which may alter the craniofacial morphology and dental arch shape, producing a malocclusion.[7,8,9,10,11]
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