Correlation between the length and sagittal projection of the upper and lower jaw and the fundamental frequency

Abstract

Objective To report on the correlation between the length and projection of the upper and lower jaw and the fundamental frequency (F0). Study Design Prospective study. Materials and Methods A total of 45 healthy subjects were included in this study. The facial skeletal measurements included: SNA, SNB, ANB, angles that reflect the position of the maxilla and mandible in relation to the base of skull and to each others, length of mandible Co-Gn, and length of maxilla PNS-ANS. All subjects underwent acoustic analysis using VISI-PITCH IV. Results The means for F0 and habitual frequency were 220.75 + 40.01 Hz and 216.99 + 43.9 Hz, respectively. The means for SNA, SNB, and ANB were 80.753 ± 3.20, 77.409 ± 3.64, and 3.336 ± 2.57, respectively. The mean length of the mandible and maxilla were 104.28 + 7.94 and 50.29 + 3.94, respectively. In the total group, there was a moderate negative correlation between F0 and habitual frequency and the length of the mandible (r =-0.528 and-0.577, respectively). There was also a moderate negative correlation between F0 and habitual frequency and the length of the maxilla (r =-0.473 and-0.519, respectively). Similar findings were present after excluding the pubertal subjects. With respect to the other cephalometric measurements, the correlation was poor (r value < 0.3). Conclusions There is a moderate negative correlation between the length of the upper and lower jaw and the average F0 and habitual frequency. The remaining facial sagittal projection parameters do not correlate with the average F0 and habitual frequency. © 2014 The Voice Foundation.