An airway study of different maxillary and mandibular sagittal positions

The relationship between craniofacial morphology and respiratory function has been studied extensively since the beginning of 20th century ( Angle, 1907 ). Some authors claim that patients with de cient respiratory functions present with lip incompetency, increased anterior face height, maxillary constriction, protruded maxillary incisors with Class II molar relationship, open bite , and narrow external nares, so called ‘ adenoid facies ’ ( Ricketts, 1968 ; Linder-Aronson, 1970 ; Moore, 1972 ). However, there is still a dispute whether this relationship between craniofacial morphology and respiratory function causes dentofacial anomalies ( Gwynne-Evans, 1958 ; Leech, 1958 ; Kluemper et al. , 1995 ). Although there is still a discussion on this topic today, it is a general belief that the upper airway structures play a signi cant role over the development of craniofacial complex ( Tourne, 1991 ; Johnston and Richardson, 1999 ; Martin et al. , 2006 ). It is incorrect to relate skeletal and dental malocclusions only to airway pathologies. Studies have been conducted on subjects with various skeletal conditions having no upper airway diseases. Ceylan and Oktay (1995) investigated pharyngeal size on lateral cephalometric head  lms of 45 males and 45 females and they found that the oropharynx areas of patients with ANB <1 degree were larger compared to subjects with ANB >5 degrees . Kirjavainen and An airway study of different maxillary and mandibular sagittal