Objective: This study examined the facial surfaces of cleft children and un
affected children aged 8-11 years with the aim of identifying and assessing
differences in their facial surface morphology. The investigation was carr
ied out using an Optical Surface Scanner, an instrument that utilizes laser
light to construct and archive a three-dimensional image of the face suita
ble for linear measurement and direct surface comparisons.
Design, Setting, and Patients: Thirty-nine cleft lip and palate (CLP) patie
nts and 25 unaffected subjects were voluntarily recruited from two southeas
t England hospitals. A range of linear facial measurements was compared. Th
ree-dimensional differences between the cleft subgroups and the control gro
up were visualized by superimposition of averaged cleft scans over the aver
aged control group images.
Results: Statistically significant dimensional differences (p less than or
equal to .05) in interocular width, nose base widths, mouth widths, and nos
e base/mouth width ratios were found between the cleft group and the contro
l group. Qualitative differences over the whole of the face were readily de
monstrated between the groups by superimposition. Face width and submandibu
lar area depth differed consistently between the groups, the cleft face app
earing narrower with a deeper submandibular area.
Conclusion: Significant differences exist between the facial surface morpho
logy of CLP patients and control subjects.