Objectives: The purpose of this study is to make a 3-dimensional (3-D) evaluation of the pharyngeal airway space (PAS) in patients with class I, II, and III malocclusion.
Study design: Sixty patients were evaluated. The patients were divided in 3 groups according to their occlusion classification. The volume and area of PAS were evaluated using the software Dolphin 3-D Imaging in the preoperative period for orthognathic surgery.
Results: PAS volume and area were influenced by different patterns of malocclusion. The mean volume and area for class III patients were statistically bigger than for classes I and II patients (P < .001). There was also a significant difference for volume values between class I and II patients, being the bigger volume for the class I patients (P < .05).
Conclusions: It was possible to conclude that the class III patients presented a bigger PAS compared with classes I and II patients.
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