The Journal
patients should be treated.
The justification for claiming a drastic increase
in patients "at risk” (Robin 1973;1980) inevitably
is linked to the presumption that orthodontics is
not only an aesthetic service but that other
health benefits accrue from treatment. Apart
from psychosocial considerations, many
orthodontic clinicians also feel that both dental
and general health may be improved by
expanding their service to include certain
g n a t h o l o g i c p r o c e d u r e s , k i n e s i o l o g y,
biofeedback, diet control, cranial osteopathy,
and modification of respiration.
Even before 1900, there were reports in the
literature on the possible relationship between
certain orofacial morphologic types and the
mode of respiration. There was a degree of
uniformity in the description of facial type
associated with mouth breathing. Features
commonly attributed to mouth breathing include
a highly vaulted, V-shaped, constricted palate
11
and procumbent maxillary incisors. Robert
(1843) argued that this set of signs was the
result of nasal airway obstruction and a
subsequent lack of stimulation that prevented
the downward growth of the palate.
11
Siebenmann (1897) suggested that adenoidal
blockage was present in individuals with faces
but felt that this condition was not responsible
for this particular facial form. Others, such as
11
11
Michel (1876) and Bloch (1888), theorized
that air, as it flowed through the mouth, strikes
the palate with sufficient force to prevent its
normal descent.
Fig 1 : Adenoids
37
Vol. 14 No. 2
May-August 2018