Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study was to describe the posttreatment morphology of the upper part of the oral cavity of complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients and to compare it to noncleft contemporaries. Patients were treated according to a protocol designed to keep a proper resting posture of the oral cavity.
Design
Retrospective study on dental casts.
Setting
The study was performed at a maxillofacial center serving a population of 2 million inhabitants. Data for noncleft subjects are the result of a longitudinal study at the same institution.
Patients
Twenty-one Caucasian UCLP patients (13 males, 8 females) aged 5 to 9 years with no other congenital anomalies and no postoperative orthodontic treatment.
Interventions
Each patient received 5 to 6 months of preoperative orthopedics with a passive plate and external nonelastic strapping with definitive lip repair at age 5 to 7 months, soft palate repair at 11 to 15 months, and hard palate repair with mucoperiosteal closure of the alveolus at 30 to 36 months. Each patient was compared to the mean values obtained from a longitudinal study of a group of 25 healthy noncleft children of the same ethnic group (11 males, 14 females).
Results
Analysis of dental casts indicated that 16 patients had a width, depth, and length of the alveolar arch in the range of the mean normal values minus two standard deviations. Their analyzed palates were flatter than normal. Six of 21 children had too small an alveolar arch for their ages, and they did not acquire a correct posture of the oral cavity.
Conclusion
The results indicate that the upper part of the oral cavity of UCLP patients can reach the dimensions of noncleft contemporaries despite surgery.