PORTUGUESE JOURNAL OF SPEECH THERAPY
RPTF | VOLUME 3 | YEAR III
Cephalometric evaluation of craniofacial pattern of people with predominantly mouth-breathing mode: A systematic literature review
Margarida Marçalo
ABSTRACT
Changing the nasal breathing pattern to predominantly oral has consequences in the development of structures ands tomatognathic functions, including the craniofacial pattern.The cephalometric analysis is a technique to quantitatively assess these changes.
Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to select and analyse the studies to investigate the influence of predominantly oral breathing mode in craniofacial pattern by cephalometric analysis.
Methods: Research was carried out in the databases B-on and SciELO articles published in the past decade.
Results: Six articles that compared oral breathers with predominantly nasal breathers were analyzed. There was no agreement on the objec- tives and methodology of the six studies,for example, with respect to the cephalometric points used. Differences were found significativasno growth of the face, in inclinaçãodo mandibular plane and the hyoid bone position, among others, and even the nasopharyngeal airway between the study groups.
Conclusion: The diagnosis of respiratory mode should be made by an ENT doctor through nasofibrolaryngoscopy, as the method considered less fallible to airway obstruction diagnosis, however, this assessment must be supplemented by other professionals. These complementary anatomical and functional assessments allow better diagnosis. Cephalometry can be an important technique for diagnosing airway obstruction if used with standard airspace measures. The mouth breathing affects the morpho-functional level not only in craniofacial structures as well as other structures such as the hyoid bone. The speech therapist with their knowledge of the stomatognathic system func- tion greatly contributes to the functional diagnosis of breathing mode. Knowing the influence of oral breathing prevalence in bone structures and soft tissues can perform diagnostics and more effective interventions and with better results.
KEYWORDS: Mouth-breathing prevalence, craniofacial pattern, cephalometric analysis