Scandcleft trial of primary surgery for unilateral cleft lip and palate: Craniofacial cephalometrics at 8 years.
BACKGROUND
The Scandcleft trial is a randomized controlled trial that includes children with unilateral cleft lip and palate where registrations are standardized and therefore provides the opportunity to describe craniofacial characteristics in a very large sample of patients.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to describe craniofacial growth and morphology in a large study sample of 8-year-old children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP); before orthodontic treatment and before secondary alveolar bone grafting; and to compare the cephalometric values with age-matched non-cleft children from previous growth studies to identify the differences between untreated cleft- and non-cleft children.


MATERIALS
There are 429 eight-year-old UCLP patients in the Scandcleft study group. A total of 408 lateral cephalograms with a mean age of 8.1 years were analysed. Cephalometric analyses were performed digitally. The results from three previously published growth studies on non-cleft children were used for comparison.


RESULTS
Cephalometric analyses showed a large variation in craniofacial morphology among the UCLP group. In general, they present with significant maxillary retrusion and reduced intermaxillary relationships compared to the age-matched non-cleft children. In addition, the vertical jaw relationship was decreased, mainly due to decreased maxillary inclination. The upper and lower incisors were retroclined. It can be expected that these differences will increase in significance as the children age.


CONCLUSION
Results from this study provide proposed norms for the young UCLP before any orthodontic treatment and can be valuable for the clinician in future treatment planning.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN29932826.
['Küseler|Annelise|A|0000-0001-9133-4644', 'Heliövaara|Arja|A|', 'Mølsted|Kirsten|K|', 'Marcusson|Agneta|A|', 'Karsten|Agneta|A|0000-0002-9905-4046', 'Bellardie|Haydn|H|', 'Sæle|Paul|P|', 'Brinck|Eli|E|', 'Skaare|Pål|P|', 'Rizell|Sara|S|0000-0003-3089-2110', 'Chalien|Midia Najar|MN|', 'Mooney|Jeanette|J|', 'Botticelli|Susanna|S|0000-0001-5514-2960', 'Eyres|Philip|P|', 'Shaw|William|W|', 'Semb|Gunvor|G|']
D002508:Cephalometry D002648:Child D002971:Cleft Lip D002972:Cleft Palate D006801:Humans D008046:Lip
Scandcleft unilateral cleft lip and palate randomized controlled trials craniofacial growth Lateral cephalograms cephalometry