Background and aim. Class II malocclusions are most commonly seen in orthodontic practice and in the recent times Twin Block appliance has been the most popular and widely used among removable functional appliances for the correction of Class II malocclusion in growing patients. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the dentoskeletal effects produced by the Twin Block appliance for the correction of Class II division 1 malocclusion with retrognathic mandible. Methods. Pre-treatment (T1) and post-treatment (T2) lateral cephalograms of 30 patients treated with Twin Block appliance (mean age  =  10.8 ± 1.2 years) for the correction of class II division 1 malocclusion were compared with the 30 untreated class II control patients (mean age 11.2 ± 0.8 years) who did not undergo any treatment during this period. Both the groups were evaluated for the dentoskeletal changes using 24 angular and linear cephalometric measurements. The differences between the pre and post-treatment were calculated using a paired t-test. Results. The cephalometric analysis revealed that the Twin Block appliance stimulated mandibular growth and statistically significant differences were found between the two groups. Twin Block patients showed a statistically very high significant (p<0.001) increase in mandibular length (6.02 mm) compared with the control group (0.3 mm). ‘Headgear effect’ on the maxilla, increase in lower anterior facial height, significant reduction of overjet, overbite and Class I molar relationship was achieved in the Twin Block group. However, no significant changes appeared in the control group. Conclusion: The results of the present study conclude that the Twin Block appliance is effective in the treatment of Class II malocclusion and this is due to a combination of skeletal and dentoalveolar changes in both the arches.

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Normal breathing is essential for the harmonious craniofacial growth. Narrowing or functional impairment of the airway can lead to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Orthodontists are well positioned to carry out a screening of OSA and refer the patients-at-risk for further diagnostic valuation by the physician. The aim of this research was to evaluate the presence of a correlation between the build of the patient and airway insufficiency to sensitize the eye of the orthodontist for potential at-risk OSA patients and provide a superior quality of treatment for them. Pre-treatment lateral cephalograms of 45 patients were divided into three groups depending on the build of the patient, i.e., endomorphic, mesomorphic and ectomorphic. The BMI was calculated for each individual and all were evaluated for the presence of airway insufficiency using McNamara’s pharyngeal width analysis. The positions of the hyoid bone and the tongue posture was also evaluated. The results of the present study showed that the association between the overall McNamara airway measurements and the build of the patient was statistically insignificant. A statistically significant difference was found between the association of the two sexes with the upper pharyngeal width values and the BMI values with the males showed a higher risk for airway insufficiency. This study suggests that build of the patient cannot be considered as a screening factor for airway insufficiency or OSA. However, a significant correlation exists between the airway insufficiency and the sex of the patient with a higher predilection of upper airway insufficiency in males.