Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this pilot study is to compare the transverse palatal widths in untreated adult cleft palate patients with normal adult patients. Methods and Materials: The study was conducted in Bangladesh recruiting 10 patients with adult sized untreated cleft palate and 15 patients with normal adult sized palates. The control group was comprised of 7 males and 8 females with a mean age of 30.5 ± 4.4 years. The affected group comprised of 7 males and 3 females with a mean age 17 ± 3.3 years. Alginate impressions of the maxillary arch were taken and poured into plaster dental casts. The inter-canine, inter-premolar and intermolar widths were measured to evaluate the maxillary growth pattern in patients with unoperated cleft palate. Due to the small sample size, both independent T-test and Mann Whitney non-parametric tests were performed to analyze the statistical significance of the data. Results: According to both the T-test and Mann Whitney non-parametric tests, the inter-premolar width including both the first and second premolars was statistically significantly smaller in the affected group with p values of 0.003 and 0.00 respectively. There was no significant difference in the inter-canine width between the affected and control group due to the variable canine position in cleft palate patients. Due to small sample size, no significant difference in the intermolar width between the affected and control group could be established. Conclusion: The interpremolar width is significantly smaller in patients with adult sized cleft palates than individuals with normal adult sized palates.
Highlights
Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital craniofacial deformities affecting the midface region and results in functional, esthetic and psychosocial disturbances
There was no significant difference in the inter-canine width between the affected and control group due to the variable canine position in cleft palate patients
The interpremolar width is significantly smaller in patients with adult sized cleft palates than individuals with normal adult sized palates
Summary
Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital craniofacial deformities affecting the midface region and results in functional, esthetic and psychosocial disturbances. According to Wyszynski et al [1], non-syndromic clefts affect approximately 1 in 1000 Caucasian newborns, 3.6/1000 Native American newborns, 2.1/1000 Japanese births, 1.7/1000 Chinese births, and 0.3/1000 African American births. Wyszynski reported that less than 3% of all cases of CL/P represent a recognized syndrome. The Majority of Cleft lip/palate patients have non-syndromic clefts which have complex traits because they do not exhibit a classic Mendelian pattern of inheritance but do show strong familial aggregation with genetic heterogeneity within and between populations. Vanderas [2] reported that the incidence of cleft lip with/without cleft palate ranged from 0.71 to 1.29 per 1000 while the incidence of isolated cleft palate ranged from 0.19 to 0.83 per 1000 births. Males have a higher incidence of both cleft lip and cleft lip/palate
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