An adenoidal face is most commonly associated with which occlusion class?

An adenoidal face is most commonly associated with which occlusion class?

• A. I class
• B. II/1 class
• C. II/2 class
• D. III class (skeletal form)

Answer: (B)

Mouth breathing from chronic nasal obstruction (adenoids) alters facial growth and dental development. With ears-nose-throat obstruction, the tongue tends to rest low and forward and the lips don’t seal at rest, so the mandible tends to grow downward and backward. This shifts the jaw relationship toward a retrusive mandible and a vertically long face, often with a narrower maxilla. Clinically, this pattern most commonly presents as a Class II skeletal relationship with a dental pattern where the upper incisors are proclined and the overjet is increased—i.e., Class II Division 1 malocclusion. The other classes don’t fit this typical growth pattern: Class I is a normal jaw relationship; Class II Division 2 usually shows retroclined upper incisors with a different bite pattern; Class III would require a forward-positioned mandible, which isn’t produced by adenoidal-induced mouth breathing.

Mouth breathing from chronic nasal obstruction (adenoids) alters facial growth and dental development. With ears-nose-throat obstruction, the tongue tends to rest low and forward and the lips don’t seal at rest, so the mandible tends to grow downward and backward. This shifts the jaw relationship toward a retrusive mandible and a vertically long face, often with a narrower maxilla. Clinically, this pattern most commonly presents as a Class II skeletal relationship with a dental pattern where the upper incisors are proclined and the overjet is increased—i.e., Class II Division 1 malocclusion. The other classes don’t fit this typical growth pattern: Class I is a normal jaw relationship; Class II Division 2 usually shows retroclined upper incisors with a different bite pattern; Class III would require a forward-positioned mandible, which isn’t produced by adenoidal-induced mouth breathing.