A comparison of occlusions in two groups of children whose clefts were repaired by three different surgical...

An inter-center comparison of the types and degrees of malocclusion found in children with complete unilateral cleft lips and palates is reported. The children were operated upon at two Scandinavian cleft palate centers, where three different surgical procedures were used. The sample was comprised of 47 Danish and 55 Norwegian children in either the primary or early mixed dentition stage. Malocclusions were documented by the method of Björk et al. (1964) prior to any orthodontic treatment. Deviations in transverse and incisor occlusion were tabulated and compared. Differences were found in the frequency of crossbite of the buccal teeth on the cleft side and in the distribution and frequency of anterior crossbite. The differences are discussed in relationship to the different methods of surgical management.