Nasolabial symmetry and aesthetics in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Fudalej, Piotr; Katsaros, Christos; Hozyasz, Kamil; Borstlap, Wilfred A.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie

doi:10.1016/j.bjoms.2011.11.019

« BackBritish Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

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Nasolabial symmetry and aesthetics in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Piotr Fudalej
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Institute of Mother and Child, Kaprzaka 17a, 01-211 Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Orthodontics, Palacky University, Palackeho 12, 772-00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Cleft Palate Craniofacial Unit, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author at: Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 243681005.
Christos Katsaros
- Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Kamil Hozyasz
- Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Mother and Child, Kaprzaka 17a, 01-211 Warsaw, Poland
Wilfred A. Borstlap
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Geert Grooteplein 14, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Cleft Palate Craniofacial Unit, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Biology, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Cleft Palate Craniofacial Unit, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Accepted 28 November 2011. published online 16 January 2012.
Corrected Proof

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between nasolabial symmetry and aesthetics in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (CUCLP). Frontal and basal photographs of 60 consecutively treated children with CUCLP (cleft group: 41 boys and 19 girls, mean (SD) age 11 (2) years) and 44 children without clefts (control group: 16 boys and 28 girls, mean (SD) age 11(2) years), were used for evaluation of nasolabial symmetry and aesthetics. Nasal and labial measurements were made to calculate the coefficient of asymmetry (CA). The 5-grade aesthetic index described by Asher-McDade et al. was used to evaluate nasolabial appearance. Correlation and regression analysis were used to identify an association between aesthetics and CA, sex, and the presence of CUCLP. Ten measurements in the cleft, and 2 in the control, group differed significantly between the cleft and non-cleft (or right and left) sides, respectively. The significantly higher values of 9 of 11 CA in the children with CUCLP indicated that they had more asymmetrical nasolabial areas than children without clefts. However, the regression analyses showed that only a few CA were associated with nasolabial aesthetics. In conclusion, nasolabial aesthetics and nasolabial symmetry seem to be only weakly associated in patients with CUCLP.

Keywords: Cleft lip and palate, Facial appearance, Nasolabial aesthetics, Nasolabial symmetry, One-stage repair