[Lingual status and mandibular morphology]

Is the balance of the hyo-lingual musculature very important about mandibular morphology and orientation of mandibular growth? The purpose of this study is to detect the existence of possible reports between hyo-lingual position and mandibular morphogenesis. The selected population is made of fifty children from eight and a half to ten and a half years old, who are thumb sucking and mouth breathing. The means of study are norma lateralis teleradiographs made when facial musculature is at rest position. The statistical analysis implies a descriptive and correlative analysis of 82 variables, and a comparative study with an other sample. In spite of anatomic bonds, it seems to be a relative independence between lingual morphology and orientation of mandibular growth. Perhaps head posture is it a more important mechanism!