Comparison of changes in nasal cavity and maxillary sinus volumes after facemask treatment with or without expansion in class III maxillary deficiency subjects.

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to evaluate and contrast the volumetric changes occurring within the nasal cavity (NC) and maxillary sinuses (MS) in patients during growth periods with Class III malocclusion, treated with either face mask (FM) or FM with rapid maxillary expansion (RME) treatment, utilizing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre-treatment (T0) and post-treatment (T1) cone beam computed tomography scans of 38 growing Class III patients (21 females, 17 males) treated with FM and FM/RME were determined and allocated into two groups: The FM/RME (11 females, 8 males; mean age, 11.71 ± 1.145 years) and the FM group (10 females, 9 males; mean age, 11.75 ± 1.021 years). The volumes of NC, right maxillary sinus (R-MS), left maxillary sinus (L-MS) and total maxillary sinus (T-MS) were measured at two time points: T0 and T1.

RESULTS: At the beginning of treatment(T0), there was no difference in the volumes of NC, R-MS, L-MS, T-MS in both FM and FM/RME groups. Both groups (FM/RME and FM) showed statistically significant increases in all volumetric measurements (NC, R-MS, L-MS, T-MS). In the comparison between the groups, a statistically significant difference was observed only in the NC measurement, while no significant differences were found in the other measurements (MS, L-MS, T-MS).

CONCLUSIONS: Both FM and FM/RME are effective treatment modalities for increasing NC and MS volumes. FM/RME is a more effective treatment protocol for increasing NC volume.