The buccal corridor as a possible morphological risk indicator for sleep disordered breathing.

Abstract

To explore a possible morphological relationship between buccal corridor, gingival display, transpalatal molar width, palatal height, and a cephalometric measurement (PV-A Line) as a risk indicator for sleep-disordered breathing. Thirty subjects were enrolled. Full face maximum smile images and CBCT scans were taken. A Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify any relationships between the variables. No correlations were identified between any of the variables investigated in this study as they relate to risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing. The amount of buccal corridor space in relation to a patient's smile and the amount of gingival display does not appear to be a reliable metric in identifying certain morphological risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing. Assessing the amount of buccal corridor space in relation to a smile does not appear to be a reliable predictor of morphological risk for certain risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing. In addition, utilizing the amount of gingival display in a patient's maximum smile does not appear to relate directly to risks in sleep-disordered breathing. Other tests and discovery may be necessary to identify these types of patients.