Cephalometric assessment of snoring and nonsnoring children.

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the differences in craniofacial cephalometric variables between snoring and nonsnoring children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Case Western Reserve University Dental School, Department of Orthodontics, and local Cleveland orthodontic private practices. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight snoring and 28 nonsnoring children between the ages of 7 years and 14 years. Nonsnoring subjects were matched to snoring subjects by age, sex, and ethnicity (mean [+/- SD] age, 10+/-2 years; 82% white, 64% female). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS: Snoring was assessed using a sleep behavior questionnaire administered to parents or guardians. The cephalometric radiographs of the study subjects were traced by a single investigator, and 1 angular measurement and 11 linear measurements of hard and soft tissues were recorded. The paired Student's t test was used to analyze the cephalometric data. RESULTS: Snoring children manifest a significantly narrower anterior-posterior dimension of the pharynx at the superior and most narrow widths. Snoring children also had a greater length from the hyoid to the mandibular plane. CONCLUSIONS: Snoring children appear to present craniofacial factors that differ from those of nonsnoring children.