Objective: To investigate the craniofacial growth characteristics in mixed dentition of OSAHS and simple snoring (SS) children.
Method: Craniofacial morphology was studied by computerized cephalometric analysis in 24 children with OSAHS, 12 children with simple snoring and 34 healthy children.
Result: In OSAHS children, SNB (75.83 +/- 2.92) was significantly smaller than healthy children (P < 0.05), while ANB (5.83 +/- 2.76), Y axis angle (72.05 +/- 2.99), FH-MP (34.68 +/- 5.05), UI-SN (107.49 +/- 5.04) and LI-MP (98.38 +/- 5.28) were larger in comparison with healthy children (with the P values P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively). The GoGn in OSAHS children (57.20 +/- 5.64) was smaller than healthy children (P < 0. 05). In SS children, the indexes ANB (5.34 +/- 1.86), Y axis angle (67.42 +/- 4.53), FH-MP (31.62 +/- 4.60) and LI-MP (98.46 +/- 5.28) were also significantly larger than healthy children (with the P values P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The GoGn in SS children (58.92 +/- 5.27) was also smaller (P < 0.05) than healthy children. All these indexes showed no significant differences between OSAHS children and SS children.
Conclusion: The effects of OSAHS and SS on craniofacial growth of children in mixed dentition include posterior displacement and shortening of mandible, heightening of anterior face and the labial inclination of maxillary central incisors and mandible central incisors. The change of breath mode was the main cause of these malformations.