Assessment of Frontal Sinus Volume and Cranial Base Length Based on Different Vertical Skeletal Patterns: A Cone Beam Computed Tomographic Study.

ABSTRACT

Introduction Evaluating craniofacial growth is an essential component of orthodontic treatment, and it is assessed by examining the cranial base. The anterior cranial base is regarded as a stable structure, and the frontal sinus is also recognised as a contributing component in the formation of the cranial base. The frontal sinus, a cavity present in the frontal bone, displays variation in both size and shape and has an impact on the overall structure of the skull and face. This study aims to evaluate the impact of vertical skeletal pattern and gender on the volume of the frontal sinus. Materials and methodology In this study, 90 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans from the record's section were included, comprising 46 males (55.44%) and 44 females (48.88%) aged 20 to 35 undergoing orthodontic treatment. The assessment involved evaluating vertical skeletal patterns using a lateral cephalogram derived from the CBCT scans, and volumetric analysis of the frontal sinus was conducted using Dolphin Imaging software (version 11.9; Dolphin Imaging and Management Solutions, Chatsworth, California). Statistical analysis was performed on the collected data using SPSS software, version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Pearson correlation, a one-way ANOVA test to determine any statistically significant differences between the means of both frontal sinus volume and cranial base length groups individually and an independent t-test to compare the sample means between the frontal sinus volume and cranial base length groups were performed. Results: A non-significant association was observed between frontal sinus volume and cranial base length in skeletal open bite (p = 0.73) and skeletal deep bite (p = 0.12) between males and females, which implies there is no substantial association between frontal sinus volume (p = 0.08) and cranial base length (p = 0.41) in the different vertical skeletal patterns.  Conclusion: Frontal sinus volume was similar in subjects with a skeletal open bite and a deep bite. Males and females did not show a difference in frontal sinus volume. Hence, it was concluded that frontal sinus volume and anterior cranial base cannot be used as parameters to predict vertical malocclusions.