ACEPHALOMETRIC STUDYOFPARENTAL CRANIOFACIALPARAMETERSTODETERMINE THE PREDISPOSITION TO OROFACIAL CLEFTING

AIM To determine the craniofacial morphological features of parents of children with oro-facial clefting and to correlate the findings with those of other investigators and to determine if the predisposition of the anomaly is related to craniofacial morphology. Methods and Materials:This study was conducted in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka , India with the intention of studying the craniofacial morphology of parents of cleft children and to compare them with that of the control group. The study was conducted from 2001 to 2003. Results:Multivariate discriminant analysis was applied to the data. When fathers of cleft children who were not from the parental pair group were compared to fathers of children without orofacial clefting (control), they were found to have (i) significant reduction in the symphysis area (p=0.025)(ii)Angle SNB was more acute (p=O.045, significant)(iii)Had a greatly reduced mandibular area (p=0.000 vhs)(iv)Reduced maxillary area (p=0.001 vhs)(v)An increased SN length hs) (vi)Cranial base angle was more acute (p=0.002hs). Conclusion:Conducting such a study and understanding these parameters could be valuable in predicting susceptibility to cleft formation. It may also aid in uncovering clues about the development of cleft palate and cleft lip conditions. This could potentially serve as part of a range of tests, including assessments on lateral cephalograms for prospective parents concerned about the likelihood of clefts in their children, enabling healthcare professionals to offer informed guidance.