A Radiographic Assessment of Morphological Diversity of Soft Palate in Darbhanga (Bihar) Population: An Original Research

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Soft palate (velar) plays an important function in head and neck region. Its diverse morphology is implicated invarious diseases.Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological variants of soft palate in each group of normal,oral submucous fibrosis, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphologicvariations of velar using digital lateral cephalogram.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the department of oral medicine and radiology and department of publichealth dentistry. Three groups were made, each of 50 patients. The soft palate morphology was evaluated according to theclassification given by You et al.Statistical Analysis: The collected data were subsequently processed and analyzed using the SPSS statistical packageversion 17.Results: We found that most common soft palate morphology in Group I was rat-tail, whereas in Group II and Group III, themost common morphology was leaf shape.Conclusion: Soft palate has different morphology. It may help in successful functional and structural repair in cleft palate casesand shed some light toward the cause of OSA and related disorders.