Evaluation of the Relationship between AirwayVolumes and Vertical Facial Growth Patterns in Adult Patients

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.