Cephalometric Examination of Soft Palate, Hyoid and Upper Airway Anatomy in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Patients

Objectives: In this study, soft palate dimensions, hyoid bone position in relation to the mandibular plane and C3 vertebrae, and upper airway widths were measured on lateral cephalograms of patients diagnosed with simple snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome of different severities by polysomnography. It was aimed to investigate whether increased apnea severity is associated with these anatomical formations which are important in the dental clinic. Materials and Methods: Our study was designed as a retrospective data analysis of 182 patients, 78 females and 104 males. In our study, patients were divided into four groups: patients with simple snoring with an Apnea-Hipopnea index (AHI) value below 5, patients with mild OSAS with an AHI value of 5-15, patients with moderate OSAS with an AHI value of 15-30 and patients with severe OSAS with an AHI value above 30. Measurements obtained from lateral cephalograms were compared between these groups. Results: Statistically significant narrowing was observed in all other groups compared to the control group in oropharyngeal width values in upper airway measurements (P