Can occlusal evaluation of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate help determine future maxillofacial morphology?

Objective : To investigate the change in occlusal evaluations from the 5-year-olds' index to the Goslon Yardstick and to compare the relationship between the evaluations and maxillofacial growth in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Design : A prospective longitudinal study. Subjects : The sample consisted of 85 patients with complete UCLP who underwent surgery from 1969 to 1994 and were treated at the Kyushu University Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan. Subjects had two serial dental casts performed at the ages of 5 and 10 years. Furthermore, each patient had lateral cephalographs taken at the age of 5 years, 76 of 85 subjects had films taken at the age of 10 years, and 54 subjects also had lateral cephalograms taken after the age of 15 years. Methods : Every dental cast was evaluated by the 5-year-olds' index and the Goslon Yardstick, respectively. The lateral cephalographs were traced and digitized, and angular dimensions were calculated. Outcomes were compared using Spearman's rank-order correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis analysis. Results and Conclusion : Dental arch relationships were evaluated and rated as 2.96 in the 5-year-olds' index and 2.85 in the Goslon Yardstick, respectively. Both gr...Continue Reading