Upper airway changes following functional treatment with the headgear Herbst or headgear Twin Block appliance assessed on lateral cephalograms and magnetic resonance imaging

Objective: The present study compared the changes in the upper airway dimensions and sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) condition between functional treatment with the headgear Herbst (HG-Herbst) and headgear Twin Block (HG-TB) appliance. Soft tissues were assessed on lateral cephalometric X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Materials and methods: Consecutive patients who sought orthodontic treatment at the Faculty of Dentistry of The University of Hong Kong were screened. Adolescents (12-17 year sold for boys and 10-15 years old for girls), with class II molar relationship and overjet >5 mm, with no severe transverse maxillary deficiency, were recruited. Patients were assigned either to the HG-Herbst or to the HG-TB treatment by stratified block randomisation, with sex as the stratification factor. Lateral cephalograms, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) were obtained at baseline and after treatment.
Results: 28 patients were enrolled, and 26 patients (13 in each group) completed the treatment. Following 1 year of functional appliance treatment, a significantly lower increase of the lower anterior facial height was observed in the HG-Herbst group compared to the HG-TB group (p = 0.024). However, no significant differences were observed in the upper airway structures or SRBD between the two groups.
Conclusion: The changes in upper airway dimensions and SRBD condition were not significantly different between the HG-Herbst and the HG-TB appliance treatment. Additional studies with larger sample size are warranted.