The Journal
Fig 12 : Pharyngeal airway measurements on CBCT
Various anatomic and radiographic studies
were also conducted
On the basis of extensive measurements of a
53
series of skulls, Grosheintz (1898) found that
the high-arched small palate (“hypsistaphylia")
usually was accompanied by a small upper
facial skeleton (“leptoprosopia"), small nasal
cavities ("leptorrhinia"), and small orbits. He
claimed that these were racial characteristics
and not due to such acquired conditions as
nasal obstruction. Obviously, it is difficult to see
how this conclusion could be drawn from the
study of skull material. Indeed, using similar
53
data, Danziger (1900) came to the opposite
conclusion.
47
53
Ricketts (1954), applying cephalometric
techniques to the lateral radiographs of 20
children, concluded that malocclusions is due to
inadequate space for nasal respiration. Others
who contributed to this debate by using
cephalometrics include Subtelny 54 (1954) and
Holik (1957) 54 . Holik actually proposed that 85%
of the mouth breathers had underdeveloped
oral musculature, especially the tongue, and
some degree of disto occlusion. No criteria
were given for identifying mouth breathers or for
assessing normal versus underdeveloped
musculature.
Vol. 14 No. 2
May-August 2018