Evaluation of the relationship between different types of skeletal malocclusions and nasal form: A cross-sectional study.

Considering the significant impact of the nasal form on the appearance of an individual, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between nasal morphology and skeletal malocclusion in a sample of Iranian population. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 141 lateral cephalograms of individuals of both genders, aged 18 to 30 years were selected. The participants were classified into Class I, II, and III malocclusions. Then, naso-facial landmarks related to the form and shape of the nose and facial skeleton were manually traced on each lateral cephalogram and 13 angular and linear parameters were measured. These parameters were compared among the three types of malocclusions. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Chi-square tests. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Most of the measurements such as nasal morphology as well as nasal height, nasal bone length, nasal bone angle, nasofrontal angle, dorsum length, total nasal length, nasal depth, columellar convexity, and nasal hump did not show significant differences among different malocclusions (p > 0.05). However, lower dorsum convexity, soft tissue convexity, naso-facial angle, and naso-mental angle were reported to have significant differences among different malocclusions (p < 0.05). According to the results of the present study, the overall shape of the nose is not affected by the type of underlying skeleton in the sample studied. However, future studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to further confirm the results of the present study.