Cephalometric analysis of maxillofacial morphology in unoperated cleft palate patients

This study was designed to investigate maxillofacial morphology in adolescents and adults with unrepaired cleft palate, with or without cleft lip. Twenty-two Chinese patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (the UCLP group), and 21 Chinese with cleft palate (the CP group) were cephalometrically evaluated and classified into the five ranges established from the means and standard deviations for matched normal Chinese populations. Many subjects in both UCLP and CP groups showed an intrinsic maxillary retrusion and a steeper mandible. The others had nearly normal maxillofacial morphology. The tendency for maxillary retrusion and a steeper mandible became increasingly remarkable with age. In the long axis of upper incisors in subjects with permanent dentition, there were no UCLP subjects with labial inclination, whereas three CP subjects exhibited labial inclination.