Relationship between cleft severity and dentocraniofacial morphology in Japanese subjects with isolated cleft palate and complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Relationships between the width of the palatal cleft measured at palatoplasty and the craniofacial morphology or the occlusal conditions present at approximately 4 years of age were studied in 25 cleft palate (CP) and 39 complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) subjects treated at the Dental Clinic of Kyushu University. Posteroanterior cephalograms and dental casts showed that the width of the palatal cleft was significantly correlated with wider upper facial width and posterior dental arch width in UCLP, but not in CP subjects. Cleft width was not significantly correlated with the buccolingual occlusal relationship in either subject type. The anterior occlusal relationship in UCLP was not as good as in CP subjects. On lateral cephalograms, the width of the palatal cleft was significantly correlated with vertical hypoplasia of the upper face in UCLP, but not in CP subjects. The cleft palate width appears to be related to the lateral displacement and the retardation of the downward and forward growth of the nasomaxillary complex in UCLP subjects.