|
Objectives: Acromegaly is a metabolic disorder caused by increased growth hormone secretion. As a consequence
of acromegaly some typical craniofacial morphology changes appear. This pilot study was conducted to compare
the bite force and the characteristic size and shape of the craniofacial components of acromegalic patients with
the healthy Turkish individuals. In additon, the correlations between bite force and craniofacial morphology of
patients with acromegaly and control individuals were evaluated.
Study Design: The maximum bite force of the participants was recorded with strain-gage transducer. Lateral xray
scans were made under standard conditions, in centric occlusion. On cephalograms, the linear and angular
measurements was performed.
Results: Patients with acromegaly showed increased anterior and posterior total face height, ramus length, width
of frontal sinuse, gonial angle and a negative difference between maxillary and mandibular protrusions. In addition,
females with acromegaly showed larger lower anterior face height and sella turcica, decreased facial angle,
increased mandibular plane angle. The cephalometric measurements, except one did not showed correlation with
the bite force in acromegalic patients. In control group, significant correlations were observed between anterior
total face height and anterior lower face height, mandibular plane angle and gonial angle.
Conclusions: The greater changes were observed in the mandible. The maximum bite force of patients with acromegaly
showed no difference from healthy individuals. The non-significant difference of bite force between
healthy participants and acromegalic patients provide important information for dental treatment and prosthetic
rehabilitation of acromegalic patients.
|