Relationship between Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy and Maxillofacial Morphology in Children

Objective: Chronic nasal airway disorders in growing children are thought to adversely affect the normal development of the maxillofacial morphology. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between severe inferior turbinate hypertrophy, which is the cause of chronic nasal airway disorders, and maxillofacial morphology in children. Materials and Methods: The inferior turbinate hypertrophy group comprised 50 patients （30 boys, 20 girls, mean age 8.9±1.7 years） diagnosed with hypertrophic rhinitis at the Nose Clinic Tokyo and who had an enlarged inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The control group comprised 50 patients （18 boys, 32 girls, mean age 8.7±1.4 years） who visited Showa University Dental Hospital. Using cone-beam computed tomography, the maxillary bone width, upper anterior facial height, mandibular bone width, mandibular ramus height, length of the body of the mandible, maxillary dentition width, mandibular dentition width, anterior cranial base length, posterior cranial base length, cranial base angle, sella-nasion-point A angle, and sella-nasion-point B angle were measured. The differences between the groups were statistically analyzed using analysis of covariance. Results: Increased upper anterior facial height, shortened length of the body of the mandible and mandibular ramus height, and small cranial base angle were significantly associated with inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Conclusion: The study suggested that inferior turbinate hypertrophy caused by chronic rhinitis and allergic rhinitis could cause changes in the maxillofacial morphology. Promoting normal jaw development in childhood is crucial for preventing jaw deformities.