Assessment of pharyngeal airway volume in adolescent patients affected by bilateral cleft lip and palate using cone beam computed tomography

Objective: To test the null hypothesis that there were no significant differences for pharyngeal airway volumes between the adolescent patients affected by bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) and well-matched controls using cone beam computed tomography. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of 16 patients (11 female and 5 male; mean [SD] age 14.1 [2.1] years) affected by BCLP and 16 patients (10 female and 6 male; mean [SD] age 13.4 [2.0] years) as age- and sex-matched control group. Craniofacial measurements and pharyngeal airway dimension, area, and volume measurements of patients in both groups were calculated and statistically examined using Student's t-test and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the BCLP and control groups for SNB (P <.05), SN-GoGn (P <.05), Co-A (P <.05), PAS (P <.01), minAx (P <.01), and oropharyngeal airway volume (P <.05). The most predictive variables for oropharyngeal airway volume were found as PAS (r =.655 and P =.000) and minAx (r =.787 and P =.000). Conclusions: The null hypothesis was rejected. Oropharyngeal (P <.05) and total (P>.05) airway volumes were found to be less in the BCLP group, and thus the treatment choice in these patients should have positive effects on the pharyngeal airway.