Cephalometric evaluation of airway dimensions in subjects with different sagittal and vertical variables

The pharynx is a tube shaped structure that extends superoinferiorly from the cranial base to the level of the inferior surface of the sixth cervical vertebra. A nasal breather may change to a mouth breather because of an obstruction in the nasal or pharyngeal airway. In addition, pharyngeal narrowing is a commonly described characteristic in obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the upper and lower airway dimensions are affected by the sagittal and vertical skeletal variables. The pre-treatment lateral cephalograms of 140 patients aged between 16years to 26 years were traced for the study. For each subject angular and linear cephalometric parameters were measured. Continuous variables were compared by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the significance of mean difference between the groups was done by Tukey’s post hoc test. A two-sided (α = 2) P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. in this study, we found a significant difference among Class I subjects with three different vertical growth pattern. Hyperdivergent patients had statistically significant narrower upper and lower pharyngeal width when compared to normodivergent and hypodivergent growth patterns. Patients with Class II malocclusions have significantly narrower upper and lower pharyngeal airways than those with Class I and Class III malocclusions.