DENTAL ARCHES DIMENSIONS IN 5-6 YEAR OLD CHILDREN AFFECTED BY OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA. AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) can be clinically managed in small children with late primary dentition. The rationale of this approach is to prevent several morphological changes in craniofacial structure of children. At that age, OSAS is already be associated to some abnormal skeletal and soft tissues features, that also Search Keyword Search You are logged in as Simona Tecco Profile Logout Home Instructions for authors Houston Abstracts involve the oral region, and it is assumed that the severity of this disease could have a considerable influence on the appearance and the severity of anatomical changes. But, to better illuminate this influence, there aren’t any specific data on the anatomy of oral region in subjects with OSAS at late primary dentition stage. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the dimensions of the upper and lower arches in children affected by OSAS with different levels of obstruction severity. Subject 27 caucasian children (14 males, 13 females; mean age 6, range 5.2-6.1 years) with a diagnosis of OSAS made by polysomnographic analysis were enrolled. The dimensions of the dental arches were measured by adopting the Moorrees method on the upper and lower dental casts, and data were compared among children affected by severe, moderate and mild OSAS. Result Average values of intermolar (Im) and intercanine (Ic) widths were significantly higher in children with severe OSAS than in children with moderate, or mild OSAS Conclusion Comparing data with normal ranges, OSAS seems not to severely affect the dental arches dimensions at this age range (late primary dentition stage). But children affected by a severe level of OSAS tend to show a higher intermolar diameter compared to the moderate group and the mild group, and a higher intercanine diameter compared to the moderate group. These observations give strength to the rationale of a clinical management of OSAS in children with late primary dentition, to preserve their normal dental arches dimensions before assisting to subsequent abnormal changes due to OSAS, mostly expected for children affected by a severe disease (AHI>10)