Soft tissue profile of children with
impaired nasal breathing

The aim of the study was to evaluate soft tissue profile of the children with impaired nasal breathing.
Materials and methods. Soft tissue points relative to the true vertical line (TVL) were measured on the lateral cephalograms in natural head position of 54 subjects with diagnosed nasal obstruction (34 males, 20 females, mean age 13.3±2.7). As controls served 33 patients receiving orthodontic treatment for different types of malocclusion (19 males, 14 females, mean age 13.4±2.7). Nasal airflow measurements were performed for all children.
Results. Both groups had retrognatic soft tissue profile, and there were no statistically significant difference between the groups in the linear and angular measurements of the soft tissue measurements, except for the interlabial gap measurement.