Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Treatment of Facial Deformities using 3D Planning and Printing of Patient-Specific Implants
Published on: May 23, 2020
The changes of upper airway flow in adolescents with maxillary cleft before and after bone grafting and orthodontic
Zhichen Yang1, Mingqian Mao1, Qingyi Li2
1School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Abstract:
This study used CFD to analyze upper airway airflow in a 14-year-old girl with a unilateral incomplete maxillary cleft across three stages: before surgery, after bone grafting, and after orthodontic treatment. Results revealed that the maxillary cleft affected the airway volume. Post-surgery and orthodontics, airway cross-sectional areas changed and turbulence in nasopharynx/oropharynx reduced; One year post-orthodontics, nasal airflow velocity normalized (5.032 m/s vs. healthy adolescents' 5.024 m/s); the shear stress distribution improved, and total pressure drop from the nostrils to the pharynx was 20.64 Pa, close to healthy adolescents' 20.69 Pa. These findings indicate that respiratory function normalized after treatment.
