Title Children with Sleep Apnea or Mouth Breathing have Similar Facial Development and Mandibular Growth
Clinical Question In children, to what extend do obstructive sleep apnea and/or mouth breathing contribute to impaired mandibular growth and facial development?
Clinical Bottom Line Children with sleep apnea or adenoid face (mouth breathing) have been found to have similar craniofacial characteristics and facial development.
Best Evidence  
PubMed ID Author / Year Patient Group Study type
(level of evidence)
17804427Peltomaki/2007Review of evidence
Key resultsPeltomaki found that children with sleep apnea and adenoid face (mouth breathing) have similar craniofacial characteristics and facial development. According to Peltomaki "children with obstructive sleep apnea have similar craniofacial characteristics as those with large adenoids and tonsils, and the first treatment of choice of OSA children is removal of adenoids and tonsils."
Evidence Search under PubMed: Mandible growth/and development, Sleep apnea/mouth breathing.
Comments on
The Evidence
In this review, it has been demonstrated that mouth breathing (adenoid face) and sleep apnea (OSA) have similar craniofacial clinical characteristics (incompetent lip seal, a narrow upper dental arch, increased anterior face height, a steep mandibular plane angle, and a retrognathic mandible), treatment options and the same clinical situation as large adenoids and tonsils.
Applicability N/A
Specialty (General Dentistry) (Pediatric Dentistry) (Dental Hygiene)
Keywords Mandible growth, sleep apnea, mouth breathing.
ID# 2473
Date of submission 04/01/2013
E-mail yepes@uthscsa.edu
Author Luis C. Yepes, DDS
Co-author(s) Michael Hosking, DDS
Co-author(s) e-mail hosking@livemail.uthscsa.edu
Faculty mentor
Faculty mentor e-mail
   
Basic Science Rationale
(Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?)
None available
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Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT
(FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs)
None available