DENTAL ARCH DIMENSIONS IN UNOPERATED ADULT CLEFT-PALATE PATIENTS - ANANALYSIS OF 37 CASES

In surgically treated patients with clefts of the lip, alveolus, and/o r palate, the vertical, transversal, and sagittal development of the m axilla is influenced by intrinsic, functional, and iatrogeneous (surgi cal) factors. To evaluate the effect of intrinsic and functional facto rs on dental arch development, we examined and compared unoperated adu lt individuals with different types of clefts. Dental casts of 37 Indo nesian adults with unoperated unilateral clefts were studied: 15 subje cts with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus (median age: 24 years) and 22 subjects with complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palat e (median age: 25 years). Dental arch dimensions were measured and eva luations of arch form were made. The Student's t-test showed that arch width and arch depth were significantly smaller in the complete-cleft group. There is a tendency for the smaller segment to be positioned m ore cranially in the complete-cleft group. Our conclusion was that sub jects with an unoperated complete-cleft lip, alveolus, and palate deve lop an arch form that is significantly different from that in subjects with unoperated cleft lip and alveolus.