Introdouction:
This study investigated the potential relationship
between vertical facial growth patterns and
airway volumes in a sample of Iranian adult patients.
Materials and methods:
This cross sectional study was conducted on 72
adult patients (44 females, 28 males), ages 18–
45 years, who had been referred to the Department
of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at the
Shiraz University of Medical Science. The vertical
growth pattern was assessed by a lateral cephalometric
radiograph using two indices: morphological
facial index (defined as the ratio of N-Mn
and Zy-Zy distance) and Jarabak index (defined
as the ratio of S-Go and N-Gn). The sizes of the
superior and inferior airway compartments were
measured by employing cone beam computed
tomography.
Data were analyzed on SPSS 21 using the
Shapiro–Wilk test, p-p plot test, one-way
ANOVA, t-test, and chi square tests (P < 0.05).
Results:
The total airway volume for all individuals was
21.72 ± 6.69 mm. There were no statistically
significant differences between subjects with
long, medium, or short faces regarding lower (p
= 0.160) or upper (p = 0.183) airway sizes. The
gender of the participants did not have a significant
relationship with the lower, upper, or total
airway sizes.
Conclusion:
Based on the findings of the current study, we
found that the cone beam computed tomography
data did not indicate any correlation between
airway volume and vertical facial growth
pattern.