Evaluation of the mandibular volume and correlating variables in patients affected by unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate: a cone-beam computed tomography study

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the mandibular volume in patients affected by unilateral (UCLP) and bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) and to compare the findings with a well-matched normal occlusion sample without cleft. The study sample consisted of 66 patients divided into UCLP (24 patients; mean age, 14.46 +/- 3.24 years), BCLP (17 patients; mean age, 14.28 +/- 2.85 years), and control (25 patients; mean age, 14.40 +/- 2.81 years) groups. The volume of the mandible including the condyle and the roots of the teeth and craniofacial measurements were performed using cone-beam computed tomography and analyzed using the one-way variance analysis and post hoc Tukey's tests. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships of the measurements and the mandibular volume. Patients affected by UCLP and BCLP had similar craniofacial features (p > 0.05), including decreased SNB, Co-A, Co-Gn, Co-Go, and Go-Gn and increased ANB and SN-MP measurements compared to the control group. Both UCLP and BCLP groups had decreased values of mandibular volume compared to the normal occlusion group, while these differences were found to be statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Co-Go (Beta = 0.420; p = 0.014) and Co-Gn variables (Beta = 0.708; p = 0.045) were positively correlated with mandibular volume, while SNB (Beta = -0.669; p = 0.044) and SN-MP (Beta = -0.358; p = 0.049) variables were negatively correlated (R (2) = 60.3 and p = 0.000). Mandibular volume insignificantly differs in cleft patients (p > 0.05), and the variables of Co-Go, Co-Gn, SNB, and SN-MP significantly correlate with the volume. This article investigates mandibular volume in patients affected by UCLP and BCLP that has never been investigated in the literature. The present study showed that both UCLP and BCLP groups had insignificantly decreased values of mandibular volume compared to the normal occlusion group.