Evaluation of the Average Nasal and Nasopharyngeal Volume in 10–13-year-old Children: A Preliminary CBCT Study

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: Mouth breathing is one of the most common deleterious habits prevalent in children which leads to various skeletal and dental malocclusions. Due to the close relationship between nasal and nasopharyngeal cavity volume and maxilla, transverse maxillary deficiency causes reduced nasal and nasopharyngeal cavity volume leading to mouth breathing. Therefore, knowledge of average nasal and nasopharyngeal cavity volume is essential to accurately diagnose mouth breathing and to evaluate underlying causative factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomographic scans of 60 children were taken and nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal volumes were calculated using Planmeca Romexis 5.2.0.R software. Average volumes were computed using predetermined landmarks and compared among gender. RESULTS: The nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal volume showed significant differences among the gender (p value < 0.001 and 0.018, respectively). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Knowledge of the average nasal and nasopharyngeal cavity volumes can be a useful diagnostic aid for mouth breathing patients and also assess the causative factors and treatment outcomes in these patients. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Kalaskar R, Balasubramanian S, Kalaskar A. Evaluation of the Average Nasal and Nasopharyngeal Volume in 10–13-year-old Children: A Preliminary CBCT Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(2):187–191.