Malocclusion in Children With and Without Cleft Lip - A Case Control Study

There is a principle agreement that malocclusion is a major health concern as it is the third most common oral disease, next only to dental caries and periodontal disease. As it is a major challenge for even normally abled children to handle these problems, questions arise as to the difference in the extent or severity of manifestation of malocclusion in the oral cavity of patients with cleft lip. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of malocclusion in children with and without cleft lip. A total of 89000 cases were reviewed between June 2019 to March 2020 for incidence of malocclusion in individuals with and without cleft lip only. A sample size of 3 case sheets were reviewed for malocclusion in children with cleft lip only. The data was obtained from dental treatment records of a private dental institute. Data was analysed using SPSS software and Mann-Whitney was done. The results showed that children with cleft lip showed higher incidence of malocclusion (100%) when compared to children without cleft lip (67%). Higher prevalence of malocclusion was noticed in the case group (children with cleft lip) when compared to the control group (children without cleft lip) (p = 0.18). Within the limitations of the present study, children with cleft lip showed higher incidence of malocclusion than the control group.