Dental Arch Relationship in Children With Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Following Warsaw (One-Stage Repair) and Oslo Protocols

Objective: To compare the dental arch relationship following one-stage repair of unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) in Warsaw with a matched sample of patients treated by the Oslo Cleft Team. Material: Study models of 61 children (mean age, 11.2; SD, 1.7) with a nonsyndromic complete UCLP consecutively treated with one-stage closure of the cleft at 9.2 months (range, 6.0 to 15.8 months; SD, 2.0) by the Warsaw Cleft Team at the Institute of Mother and Child, Poland, were compared with a sample drawn from a consecutive series of patients with UCLP treated by the Oslo Cleft Team and matched for age, gender, and soft tissue band. Methods: The study models were given random numbers to blind their origin. Four examiners rated the dental arch relationship using the GOSLON Yardstick. The strength of agreement of rating was assessed with weighted Kappa statistics. An independent t-test was carried out to compare the GOSLON scores between Warsaw and Oslo samples, and Fisher's exact tests were performed to evaluate the difference of distribution of the GOSLON scores. Results: The intrarater and interrater agreements were high (K >= .800). No difference in dental arch relationship between Warsaw and Oslo groups was found (mean GOSLON score = 2.68 and 2.65 for Warsaw and Oslo samples, respectively). The distribution of the GOSLON grades was similar in both groups. Conclusions: The dental arch relationship following one-stage repair (Warsaw protocol) was comparable with the outcome of the Oslo Cleft Team's protocol.