Dental arch morphology in south‐east Asian adults with obstructive sleep apnoea: geometric morphometrics

Abstract

The association between dental arch morphology and the aetiology of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is not clear. To compare dental arch morphology in 108 Asian adults with and without ''OSA, overnight'' hospital polysomnography was performed, and sleep reports were obtained for all subjects. Standardized digital photographs were also taken of the subjects' upper and lower study models. Using 25 homologous landmarks, mean OSA and control dental arch configurations were computed, and subjected to finite-element morphometry (FEM), t-tests and principal components analysis (PCA). Mean upper and lower OSA dental arch morphologies were statistically different from respective Control upper and lower arch morphologies (P < 0.05). FEM of the upper arch indicated that the mean OSA configuration was 7-11% narrower in the transverse plane in the incisor and canine regions when compared with the control configuration, and inter-landmark analysis (ILA) confirmed this finding. FEM for the lower arch indicated that the mean OSA configuration was 10-11% narrower in the antero-posterior plane in the pre-molar and molar regions, and confirmed by ILA. Using PCA, significant differences were also found between the two groups in the lower arch using the first two eigenvalues, which accounted for 90% of the total shape change (P < 0.001). Supporting their role as aetiological factors, size and shape differences in dental arch morphology are found in patients with OSA.

Facial Profile Shape, Malocclusion and Palatal Morphology in Malay Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

“…19 In view of the fact that the roof of the mouth is also the floor of the nose, a narrow arch can infringe on the nasal cavity space. Therefore, maxillary dimensions, in addition to vascular and soft tissue factors, were reported as important for determining nasal airway properties.…”

“…Full details of the sleep study for the same group of patients can be found elsewhere. 6,19 Table 1 shows the demographic profile of 120 subjects classified according to age and sex. The control group included 37 females and 23 males.…”

Patterns of morphological integration in the dental arches of individuals with malocclusion

“…Recently, researchers have identified this knowledge gap and have begun employing other, more comprehensive, methodologies for understanding arch variation (Perez et al, 2006; Kieser et al, 2007; Banabilh et al, 2009; Gómez-Robles and Polly, 2012; Polly, 2012; Alarcón et al, 2014). One such analytical tool that has had increasing popularity in the study of arch form is geometric morphometrics (Kieser et al, 2007; Banabilh et al, 2009).…”

“…One such analytical tool that has had increasing popularity in the study of arch form is geometric morphometrics (Kieser et al, 2007; Banabilh et al, 2009). While geometric morphometric (GM) techniques have been employed in other scientific fields for at least the last two decades, this approach to phenotypic analysis is relatively new to the dental sciences (Singh et al, 2004; Singh and Abramson, 2008; von Cramon-Taubadel, 2011).…”

Dental changes associated with tongue retaining device wear

“…The use of 3D x, y, and z coordinate data might have overcome this particular flaw by modeling in 3D space using geometric morphometrics [2] rather than using the constraints of an imaginary fixed reference plane. In a geometric morphometric study, however, the minimum sample size depends on the type of analysis to be performed [3].…”