Correlation between anterior teeth retraction and pharyngeal airway dimension changes in bimaxillary protrusion cases

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to demonstrate the correlation between anterior tooth retraction and changes in the dimensions of the pharyngeal airway in cases of bimaxillary protrusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Changes in dental parameters and the width of the upper and lower pharyngeal airways from 46 lateral cephalometric radiographs that met the inclusion criteria were measured. Changes were tested for significance using the paired t -test, and correlations were tested using the Pearson correlation test . RESULTS: Significant changes were observed in dental parameters and in the width of the upper pharyngeal airway following orthodontic treatment ( P < 0.05). However, no significant change was found in the width of the lower pharyngeal airway ( P = 0.166). There was no significant correlation between changes in the upper incisor parameters and upper pharyngeal airway width ( P = 0.130 and P = 0.738), nor between changes in the lower incisor parameters and lower pharyngeal airway width ( P = 0.911 and P = 0.614). CONCLUSION: Anterior tooth retraction does not significantly correlate with changes in the width of the pharyngeal airway. Therefore, premolar extraction for anterior tooth retraction can be considered a safe orthodontic approach in cases of bimaxillary protrusion.