Anatomical relation between nasal septum deviation and oropharynx volume in different facial patterns evaluated through cone beam computed tomography.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to establish the anatomical relation between nasal septum deviation (NSD) and oropharynx volume in different facial patterns using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Methods: Ninety CBCT examinations were analyzed. InVivoDental software was used to evaluate cephalometric image reconstructions in terms of facial type, determined from cephalometric measurements indicative of growth direction; the presence of NSD was also evaluated. ITK-SNAP software was employed for delimitation of the oropharynx. Intra-examiner error methods were recorded. The results were subjected to parametric and non-parametric tests using Bioestat 5.0.

Results: A comparison of facial types revealed a significantly lower prevalence of NSD in the dolichofacial group compared with the brachyfacial and mesofacial groups (P = 0.0101 and 0.0149, respectively). In the total sample, there was a very strong positive relation between the presence of NSD and oropharynx space volume (P = 0.0162). The oropharynx volume was larger in all facial patterns in the presence of NSD.

Conclusion: The presence of NSD was not associated with facial type, although the oropharynx volume in patients with NSD increased. Therefore, deviation of the septum influences oropharynx volume.