Association between snoring and deciduous dental development and soft tissue profile in 3-year-old children

Association between adenotonsillar hypertrophy and dentofacial characteristics of children seeking for orthodontic treatment: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To compare the dentofacial characteristics of children with and without adenoid and/or tonsillar hypertrophy.

METHODS

A consecutive sample of orthodontic patients aged 6-12 that took pre-treatment lateral cephalograms were included in this study. Those with history of previous orthodontic treatment, adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy, or craniofacial anomalies were excluded. The diagnosis of adenoid and tonsillar hypertrophy was based on Fujioka's and Baroni's methods, according to which the subjects were divided into four groups: the adenoid hypertrophy only (AHO) group; tonsillar hypertrophy only (THO) group; combined adenoid and tonsillar hypertrophy (AH+TH) group; and no adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy (NH) group. Cephalograms were used for skeletal and dental measurement. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, LSD post-hoc tests and Chi-square test.

RESULTS

A total of 598 patients were included. Compared with the NH group, the THO group had significantly larger SNB angle (P < 0.001), as well as significantly smaller ANB angle (P<0.001) and Wits value (P = 0.001). The U1-L1 angle of AHO group was significantly smaller than that in the NH group (P = 0.035). The proportion of adenoid hypertrophy in Class II patients was significantly higher than that in Class III patients (P = 0.001). The proportion of tonsillar hypertrophy in Class III patients was significantly higher than that in Class I patients (P < 0.001) and Class II patients (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Over 80 % of children seeking orthodontic treatment had either adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy. Children with adenoid hypertrophy tend to have skeletal Class II malocclusion, while those with tonsillar hypertrophy tend to have skeletal Class III malocclusion.

Behavioral and cognitive outcomes of habitual snoring in children aged 2-14 years in Chengdu, Sichuan

PURPOSE

Habitual snoring is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and other physiological problems of children. Few studies have reported specifically on the relationships between snoring and those problems in children as noticed by their parents. We aimed to identify the cognitive, behavioral, and sleep-related nocturnal problems in children with HS as noted by their parents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was performed in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Children aged 2-14 years from four districts were randomly chosen to participate. Questionnaires were completed voluntarily by the children's parents/guardians.

RESULTS

A total of 1548 questionnaires were analyzed and classified those children as 463 habitual snorers (HS group, 30.4 %), 683 occasional snorers (OS group, 44.8 %), and 402 non-snorers (NS group, 26.4 %). The percentages of children with sleep-related nocturnal symptoms were 94.6 %, 87.3 %, and 66.9 % in the HS, OS, and NS groups. Percentages of children with cognitive problems were 76.2 %, 74.6 %, and 64.9 % in the HS, OS, and NS groups, respectively (P < 0.001). The frequencies of daytime behavioral problems were 68.3 %, 61.5 %, and 46.8%in the HS, OS, and NS groups, respectively (P < 0.001).The average number of sleep-related nocturnal symptoms, cognitive symptoms and daytime behavioral problems was higher in the HS group than in the OS and NS groups.

CONCLUSIONS

HS is a significant contributor to sleep-related nocturnal symptoms and daytime cognitive and behavioral problems in children, as reported by their parents/guardians. HS and OS are important contributors to poor sleep quality and daytime cognitive and behavioral problems in children.

Is securing normal dentofacial development an indication for tonsil surgery in children? A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Tonsil surgeries are common operations in the field of paediatric otorhinolaryngology. Often, the indication for these operations is hypertrophied tonsils. Paediatric sleep-disordered breathing and mouth-breathing are conventional situations caused by the hypertrophied tonsils. Both of these are further associated with dentofacial development alterations. Securing normal dentofacial development, or restoring it, is often used as an indication for tonsil surgery. In this review and meta-analysis, we assessed the contemporary literature to clarify whether tonsil surgery has an effect on dentofacial development in children.

METHODS

Studies with children aged 3-10 years who underwent tonsil surgery and were compared to non-operated controls using dentofacial parameters were included to the review. Search strategies were planned for specific databases. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to assess the risk of bias. A meta-analysis was performed when the data was methodologically homogenous enough to be pooled.

RESULTS

The inclusion criteria for the review were fulfilled in 8 studies. The overall quality of the individual studies was judged to be moderate at best. The data were methodologically homogenous enough to be pooled for the meta-analysis in only 2 studies. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that tonsil surgery has a positive effect on the growth direction of the mandible (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

There is modest evidence that suggests that tonsil surgery has a positive effect on the dentofacial development in children with hypertrophied tonsils. Securing normal dentofacial development should be one component, but not the only one, when the indications for tonsil surgery in children are considered.