Early identification of candidates for corrective maxillary osteotomy in a cleft lip and palate group

Orthodontic planning for CLP patients in the prepubertal or pubertal stage is often hampered by uncertainty about future facial balance in the sagittal plane. Based on a previous retrospective study on young adults with operated cleft lip and palate where distinctive changes in facial pattern during pubertal growth had been found, it was hypothesized that Enlow's analysis of consecutive cephalometric X-rays should allow to predict the ultimate need for corrective osteotomy from the 10 to 12 year state already. The hypothesis was tested on an independent group of 24 patients, and prediction was correct in 82% of the cases.