Cephalometric assessment of snoring and nonsnoring children.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the differences in craniofacial cephalometric variables between snoring and nonsnoring children.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
Case Western Reserve University Dental School, Department of Orthodontics, and local Cleveland orthodontic private practices.


METHODS
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).


METHODS
None.


METHODS
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.
Kulnis
R
R
Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-4905, USA.
Nelson
S
S
Strohl
K
K
Hans
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010614:Pharynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D012913:Snoring / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires