Evaluation of Upper Airway Depth with Different Anteroposterior Skeletal Patterns in Children

The respiratory function is relevant to the craniofacial growth and orthodontic diagnosis. The size of the pharyngeal airway was measured in lateral cephalometric view in children visited Kyung Hee University Hospital from January 2015 to August 2017. A total of 74 healthy children (36 boys and 38 girls) aged 7 11 years (mean, 8.5 years) with a normodivergent facial pattern were divided into three groups according to anteroposterior jaw relation measuring A point-Nasion-B point (ANB) angle. Lateral cephalometric data were used to measure the airway dimensions. The dimensions of the middle airway were significantly lower, reducing the upper airway space, in large ANB angle group than in other children, suggesting that children with large ANB angle have narrower airway space than others.