The evaluation of the relationship between cervical vertebral anomalies with skeletal malocclusion types and upper airway dimensions.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of cervical vertebral anomalies (CVAs) in different skeletal malocclusions and to evaluate the relationship between upper airway dimension and vertebral anomalies.

METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on lateral cephalometric radiographs of 2062 patients aged 7-49 years. Skeletal malocclusion type, presence of CVAs, and upper airway area of 1856 patients who met the inclusion criteria of the study were recorded. The obtained data were transferred to the SPSS program for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 13.8 ± 3.7 years. The prevalence of CVAs was 45.7%. There was no significant difference in prevalence between skeletal malocclusions (p = 0.89). According to airway measurements, no significant difference was found between patients with and without CVAs (p = 0.718).

CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that there is no direct effect of skeletal malocclusion type and upper airway dimension in the etiology of CVAs.