European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The human skeleton is a well-balanced dynamic system which responds to different mechanical stresses. The paranasal sinuses occupy a significant amount of space in the cranium which has been a topic of interest in studies to determine their function and factors affecting their morphology and size. The ability to predict the craniofacial growth pattern helps in improving accurately the reliability of treatment planning and long-term success. AIMS: Growth evaluation plays a significant role in the accurate diagnosis and treatment planning of children. This study aimed to correlate the frontal sinus index with anterior and posterior facial heights. The objective was to evaluate the association between frontal sinus morphology, facial heights and sagittal jaw discrepancies for the assessment of growth. METHODS: A total of 50 Lateral cephalograms of the children aged 7-15 years in Ahmedabad were used to measure the frontal sinus dimensions. Correlation between the frontal sinus dimensions, anterior & posterior facial heights and skeletal jaw discrepancies were evaluated and data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Very Low Positive Co-relation was found between the sinus index and ANB angle (0.105073974); Very Low Negative Co-relation was found between the sinus index and SN-GoGn angle (-0.148290904); Weak Positive Co-relation was found between sinus index and Lower anterior facial height (0.275691492) and the sinus index and anterior facial height (0.214073235); Medium Positive Co-relation was found between the sinus index and posterior facial height (0.307817304). CONCLUSION: None of the parameters could be significantly correlated with the frontal sinus index. Hence, at this juncture, the use of this indicator as the sole criterion for evaluating the growth using cross-sectional data is questionable. So, Frontal sinus is not as reliable as a sole criterion for growth evaluation.