A retrospective comparison of craniofacial form in northern Irish childrenwith unilateral cleft lip and palate

Objective: This study evaluated the craniofacial form of a sample of Northe rn Irish children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). The quality of the outcomes achieved was compared with the outcomes reported for the si x centers involved in the European multicenter study (Mars et at., 1992; Mo lsted et al, 1992). Design: Retrospective analysis. Patients: All children born with complete skeletal UCLP in Northern Ireland during the years 1983 to 1987. Main Outcome Measures: Cephalometric analysis was used to determine the cra niofacial form and soft tissue profile. The quality of the dental arch rela tionships was independently assessed using the Goslon ranking system. Results: The sample comprised 25 children with complete skeletal UCLP who h ad cephalometric radiographs and study casts recorded at a mean age of 9.4 years (range, 8 to 11 years). Cephalometric analysis revealed no important skeletal differences between the Northern Irish UCLP children and the publi shed results from the six Eurocleft centers. The soft tissue profile of the Northern Irish UCLP children was significantly more convex than the soft t issue profile recorded for center D in the Eurocleft study. The Gosion rank ing system revealed that 18 (72%) of the Northern Irish UCLP children had g ood or satisfactory dental arch relationships. Conclusions: No clinically important differences were detected between the mean cephalometric skeletal parameters of the Northern Irish UCLP children and those published for the six cleft centers involved in the Eurocleft stu dy. On average, the Northern Irish UCLP children were found to differ signi ficantly from Eurocleft's center D in their soft tissue facial contour and sagittal lip profile. The quality of the dental arch relationships of the N orthern Irish sample was between the best and the less good Eurocleft cente rs.