Children with hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids may have adverse effects on dental occlusion, which tend to worsen during the growth period. Diagnosis and early treatment is essential.
Aim: Prospective clinical study to compare the cephalometric measurements before and after adenotonsillectomy in mouth breathing patients.
Material and method: We had 38 patients of both genders, aged between 7 and 11 years in our sample, broken down into: oral group, 18 patients with obstructive hypertrophy of pharyngeal tonsil and/or palate grade 3 or 4; control group, 20 patients with normal breathing. Angular and linear dental measurements were compared between the groups in a 14 months interval. We used the "t" Student and Wilcoxon tests for unpaired samples, at 5% significance, for statistical purposes.
Results: The sagittal position and axial angle of the lower incisors increased significantly in the group with oral breathing, the sagittal position of the upper incisors increased significantly in the oral group, which still had a significant increase in overbite.
Conclusion: Adenotonsillectomy was very effective in improving some dental measurements, with benefits to growing patients preventing malocclusions from becoming difficult to treat or permanent.