ASSESSMENT OF UPPER AIRWAY AND SURROUNDING SOFT TISSUES IN PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF SAGITTAL MALOCCLUSION USING CONE-BEAM COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY

The relationship between facial morphology and upper airway (UA) dimensions is well established in scientific literature. Due to that, upper airway assessment is an important step of orthodontic treatment planning and diagnosis. Three-dimensional cone-beam computer tomography analysis (CBCT) of upper airway is simple and readily available method of measuring linear and angular parameters, cross-sectional area, and volume of the UA. The aim of the study is to measure the UA and surrounding tissue dimensions in patients with different types of sagittal malocclusion. 63 CBCT scans of adult patients without history of trauma, orthodontic treatment and congenital syndromes, diagnosed with distal, mesial, and normal occlusion have been studied using Materialise Mimics 21.0. Three-dimensional models of UA were created, and measurements of volume and cross-sectional area were taken using centerline and conventional cephalometric analysis. Non-parametric statistical correlational analysis was conducted. There were statistically significant differences between patients with mesial and distal occlusion. Moderate statistically significant correlations between facial morphology and UA dimensions have been found. In patients with distal occlusion, extended head position, posterior position of the hyoid bone, transverse maxillary and mandibular deficiency UA tend to have smaller size. The most predictive factor for minimal cross-sectional area of UA is the craniocervical angle and the distance between mandibular condyles.