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Updated: May 24, 2026

Method of Studying Palatal Fusion using Static Organ Culture
Published on: September 19, 2015
Sagittal maxillary growth pattern in unilateral cleft lip and palate patients with unrepaired cleft palate
Zhen-Qi Chen1, Jun Wu, Rong-Jing Chen
1Department of Orthodontics, Ninth People's Hospital, School of Stomatology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. chen_zhenqui@yahoo.com
Objective:
The objective of the study was to examine the sagittal maxillary growth pattern during the mixed and permanent dentition in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients with unrepaired cleft palate.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 30 nonsyndromic UCLP patients with unrepaired cleft palate were included, 15 of whom were in mixed dentition and 15 in permanent dentition.Cephalograms were analyzed and compared in the patients with UCLP who have operatively undergone repair with both the lip and palate as well as normal subjects.
Results:
The UCLP patients with unrepaired cleft palate in mixed dentition showed decreased anterior-posterior length of the maxilla. The UCLP patients with unrepaired cleft palate in permanent dentition demonstrated an almost normal maxillary growth. The operated-on patients both in mixed and permanent dentitions showed maxillary retrusion as well as decreased maxillary length.
Conclusions:
There appears that there may be the potential normal maxillary growth in UCLP patients, and early surgical repair of the cleft palate may affect sagittal maxillary growth pattern in patients with cleft.

