Abstract
BackgroundThe mandibular opening path movements have different directions according to the craniofacial morphology of the patient but always downward and backward, therefore increasing the collapse of the upper airway. The aim of this work is to determine if there is a relationship between the craniofacial morphology and the mandibular movement to help understand the impact on the mandibular position.Methods52 students with full permanent dentition aged 19 to 23 years (mean 21.3 SD 1.7; 29 females and 23 males), participated in the study. Each subject had a lateral cephalometric radiograph taken. The opening angle was determined for two levels of vertical openings at 5 and 10 mm.ResultsThe opening angle showed a greater variability between subjects ranging from 63.15 to 77.08 for 5 mm angle and from for 61.65 to 75.72 for the 10 mm angle. Differences of facial phenotypes was evident when comparing the individual dissoccluding angle of the low angle horizontal pattern and high angle vertical pattern.ConclusionsThe opening angle is related to craniofacial morphology with higher vertical anterior and shorter anteroposterior faces having a more horizontal path of mandibular movement than shorter vertical anterior and longer anteroposterior subjects who have a more vertical path.
Highlights
The mandibular opening path movements have different directions according to the craniofacial mor‐ phology of the patient but always downward and backward, increasing the collapse of the upper airway
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an important health problem, which has the presence of repeated episodes of a partial or complete collapse of the upper airway [1]
Even though there are conflicting reports on the success rate of these appliances [1, 7], mandibular advancement device (MAD) have been reported to be an alternative treatment to Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in moderate to severe OSA cases [6, 8]
Summary
The mandibular opening path movements have different directions according to the craniofacial mor‐ phology of the patient but always downward and backward, increasing the collapse of the upper airway. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an important health problem, which has the presence of repeated episodes of a partial (hypopnea) or complete (apnea) collapse of the upper airway [1]. One treatment option for OSA is the use of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) [1, 5]. MADs keep the mandible in a protruded position during sleep increasing the width of the airway and reducing its collapsibility [6]. Even though there are conflicting reports on the success rate of these appliances [1, 7], MADs have been reported to be an alternative treatment to CPAP in moderate to severe OSA cases [6, 8].
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