Assessment of Hyoid Bone Position and Soft Palate Morphology in Different Skeletal Patterns Using Lateral Cephalograms: A Cross-sectional Study.

Abstract

Aim: To assess the hyoid bone position and soft palate morphology among a cohort of patients with skeletal class I, II, and III using lateral cephalograms.

Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was conducted at Ras Al Khaimah College of Dental Sciences using pretreatment lateral cephalograms. The cephalograms were categorized into 3 groups based on the skeletal classes. The hyoid bone position was traced in each group using the following parameters: The C3-H distance from the third cervical vertebrae to the lower border of the hyoid bone, the C3-RGn distance from the 3rd cervical vertebrae to the retrognathion, and the H-RGn distance from the lower border of hyoid bone to retrognathion. Measurements were calculated and compared. The soft palate morphology was also studied.

Results: Seventy-eight patients' records (with age range 18-24 years) were investigated. A one-way analysis of variance test along with a post-hoc test revealed a significant difference in C3-H, C3-RGn, and H-RGn between class I and class II and III (p-value 0.006, 0.004, and 0.040, respectively). Class III reported the largest distances, while class II reported the smallest distance. The leaf-shaped soft palate morphology was the most predominant soft palate shape observed in all the classes, while the S-shaped was the least soft palate shape in class I, the straight line-shape in class II, and the crook shape in class II and class III. The soft palate morphology was not associated significantly with either the patient's gender or the skeletal variations. None of the samples in classes I and III showed the butt-like and S-shaped soft palate, respectively.

Conclusion: The hyoid bone position and the soft palate morphology show variation among the different skeletal classes.

Clinical significance: The radiographic determination of the hyoid bone position and soft palate morphology using lateral cephalograms can provide valuable insight for the diagnosis and management of the different skeletal variations. How to cite this article: Awadalkreem F, Dasnadi S, Farghal NS, et al. Assessment of Hyoid Bone Position and Soft Palate Morphology in Different Skeletal Patterns Using Lateral Cephalograms: A Cross- sectional Study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2025;26(1):40-47.