Pharyngeal airway volume and shape from cone-beam computed tomography: relationship to facial morphology.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to assess the differences in airway shape and volume among subjects with various facial patterns. METHODS Cone-beam computed tomography records of 62 nongrowing patients were used to evaluate the pharyngeal airway volume (superior and inferior compartments) and shape. This was done by using 3-dimensional virtual surface models to calculate airway volumes instead of estimates based on linear measurements. Subgroups of the sample were determined by anteroposterior jaw relationships and vertical proportions. RESULTS There was a statistically significant relationship between the volume of the inferior component of the airway and the anteroposterior jaw relationship (P = 0.02), and between airway volume and both size of the face and sex (P = 0.02, P = 0.01). No differences in airway volumes related to vertical facial proportions were found. Skeletal Class II patients often had forward inclination of the airway (P <0.001), whereas skeletal Class III patients had a more vertically oriented airway (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS Airway volume and shape vary among patients with different anteroposterior jaw relationships; airway shape but not volume differs with various vertical jaw relationships. The methods developed in this study make it possible to determine the relationship of 3-dimensional pharyngeal airway surface models to facial morphology, while controlling for variability in facial size.