Arch Symmetry in Patients Without and With Cleft Lip and Palate After Orthodontic/Rehabilitative Treatment-A Stereophotogrammetry Study

Objective To evaluate and compare the dental arch symmetry of individuals with and without cleft lip and palate after orthodontic/rehabilitation treatment. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Tertiary cleft center in Brazil. Patients Fifty-five participants aged between 18 and 30 years were divided into 3 groups according to treatment. Patients that received either a fixed partial denture (FPD) or implant-supported crown (ISC) in the cleft area or only orthodontic treatment, noncleft patients (NC). Interventions An analysis was performed using digitized dental casts scanned by laser and software. The following linear measurements were evaluated: incisor-canine; canine-molar; incisor-molar; surface and volume of the palatal region. Main Outcome Measure Three-way ANOVA was used to compare the study factors: group (FPD/ISC/NC) and side (right/left) followed by the Tukey test to verify their interaction (alpha = .05). Results The results showed statistically significant differences among groups for the maxillary linear measurements canine-molar and incisor-molar, but not for incisor-canine. No statistically significant differences were found regarding the side for the maxillary measurements, while the factor interaction showed similarity only for incisor-canine. The mandibular measurements showed no statistical differences among groups, sides, or factor interactions. In surface and volume, all values in patients with cleft presented lesser than in without cleft patients. Conclusion Regardless of the rehabilitation, arch symmetry can be achieved in the incisor-canine dimension in the cleft area.