The effect of anatomical variations of the sinonasal region on maxillary sinus volume and dimensions: a three-dimensional study

Abstract Introduction Anatomical variations in the sinonasal region are remarkably common and these variations may have an impact on maxillary sinus development due to their close anatomical adjacency. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anatomical variations of the sinonasal region on the width, height, length, and volume of the maxillary sinus. Methods Cone beam computed tomography records of 120 patients were evaluated. Nasal septum deviation angle was measured for each patient and patients were divided into three groups as mild, moderate, and severe. Sinonasal variations such as nasal septum deviation direction, septal spur, concha bullosa, uncinate process pneumatization, middle concha hypertrophy, inferior concha hypertrophy, paradoxical middle concha and presence of septa in the maxillary sinus were registered. Cone beam computed tomography images were transferred to the SimPlant software thus right and left maxillary sinus volumes and dimensions were measured separately. Results There was a negative and statistically significant relationship between age and left maxillary sinus width (p = 0.015). The relationships between gender and maxillary sinus volumes and dimensions were statistically significant (p  Conclusion According to our findings, while certain the variations were found to affect the sinus dimensions; none of the variations was found to be related to the maxillary sinus volume.