Current data on the characterization of oral clefts in Brazil

This study aimed at investigating the current distribution of the several types of clefts among the patients receiving treatment at the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies (HRAC-USP), Bauru, Brazil, for the first time during the year 2000. A total of 803 unoperated patients with cleft lip and/or palate, with or without additional malformations, with no recognizable syndromes, who came to the HRAC-USP for enrollment for treatment during the year 2000. A predominance of complete cleft lip and palate, either unilateral or bilateral, was observed (37.1%), followed by isolated cleft palate (31.7%) and isolated cleft lip (28.4%). A discrete relationship between cleft palate and the female gender was noticed (53%), and males were more affected by the other types of clefts (around 60%). The findings revealed a predominance of complete clefts of the primary and secondary palate, the treatment of which is more complex, and whose frequency is greater in males.