Comparative evaluation of the pharyngeal airway in patients with class 3 anomaly

The upper pharyngeal airway is a crucial anatomical structure in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. The aim of this study was to compare the size and area of upper pharyngeal airway in the patients with Class III malocclusion characterized by maxilla and maxillo-mandibular at MP3cap growth-development period with the Class I control group at the same growth period by gender. This study consisted of a total of 180 pre-treatment lateral cephalometric and hand-wrist radiographs, 45 in each group (Group 1: Class I male; Group 2: Class III male; Group 3: Class I female; Group 4: Class III female), taken from the archive of Gazi University Department of Orthodontics. Pharyngeal airway dimension and area measurements were done. Dimensional and angular measurements were made using the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP 2.10.18, Spencer Kimmball, Peter Mattis and GIMP Team, 1995-2020, NY, USA). AUTOCAD (Autodesk 2018, San Rafael, CA, USA) software program was used for area measurements. AA'-Pm' and AA-PNS that are nasopharyngeal airway measurements were found to be greater in males with Class I malocclusion than Class III males (p<0,05). Oropharyngeal and retroglossal airway areas were found to be smaller in girls with Class I malocclusion in accordance with Class III girls (p<0.001, p=0.001, respectively). The height of the nasopharyngeal airway and the upper pharyngeal space (SPS) were greater (p<0.05) and the hyoid bone was (p<0,05) in girls with Class III malocclusion than Class I girls. Oropharyngeal and retroglossal airway areas were found to be larger in Class III girls than in boys with the same malocclusion type p. Girls had more extended position than boys in both skeletal paterns (p<0.001). As a conclusion, differences were found in pharyngeal airway size and area measurements in the subjects at MP3cap growth-development stage between the genders and skeletal Class III and I dentofacial patterns.