OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare cephalometric values between nasal and oral breathing children and to measure the upper and lower airway space in both groups.
METHODS: The study was conducted on 118 pediatric patients, 51 girls and 67 boys, from the Dental Clinic of the Universidad Europea de Madrid. The age ranges of the sample were 6-12 years old. 53 of them were mouth breathers and 65 nose breathers. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were obtained for all of the subjects. The radiographs were analyzed and a cephalometric tracing was performed on each one.
RESULTS: The Mouth breathing children showed a more retruded mandible (SNB), and a greater inclination of the mandibular plane (NS-Go Gn) and occlusal plane (NS-O Pl.), than the nose breathing children (P<0.05). The Mouth breathing group also had a higher frequency of having the hyoid bone in a more elevated position and the nasopharyngeal air space significantly smaller than the nasal breathing group (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION: Mouth breathing children seem to have an increase in anterior lower facial height, the hyoid bone in a more elevated position and higher tendency towards having a class II malocclusion compared to nose breathing children.
