The relationship between dental overbite and eustachian tube dysfunction

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association bet ween deep dental overbite and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), Design: Ca se-control study Setting: Tertiary care pediatric otolaryngology outpatient clinic at the Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Patients: 105 pa tients between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Study Measurements: Dental. overb ite, overjet, and occlusal relationships were measured by an observer who w as unaware of ETD status. ETD was defined as having ventilation tubes in pl ace or having the recommendation for ventilation tube placement by an atten ding pediatric otolaryngologist, In addition, demographic information and m edical and social histories were prospectively recorded. Results: In a mult ivariate logistic regression model, children with deep bites were 2.8 times more likely to have ETD than those without deep bites (P =.03). Other inde pendent risk factors for ETD identified in this model were family history o f otitis media (OM) and age less than 3 years. Conclusions: Children with d eep dental overbites are at a significantly increased risk for developing E TD.