Cephalometric profile evaluation in patients with cleft lip and palate

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common of all congenital malformations of the face. These patients exhibit abnormalities of dental arch forms, malocclusions, facial deformity & masticatory dysfunction. This study was done to evaluate the differences in the cephalometric norms between normal individuals and the cleft lip/palate individuals and also between unilateral and bilateral cleft patients. The results showed that apart from maxillary deficiency, the cleft patients showed myriad differences in the skeletal and soft tissue parameters both in vertical and horizontal planes. The unilateral cleft patients showed a statistically significant difference in the anterior facial height when compared to the bilateral cleft counterparts while the other values remained normal