The Midpalatal Suture in Patients with Complete Cleft Lip & Palate

• Main Authors: Yung Hsuan Tai, 戴詠萱
• Other Authors: J. W. Liou
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/48rk7k

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 顱顏口腔醫學研究所 === 104 === Objective: To investigate whether the cleft type is related to the presence or distribution of midpalatal suture by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials & Methods: This was a prospective 3-arm parallel study. Sixty-nine growing patients with hypoplastic maxilla at the cervical vertebral stage 2~3 fulfilled the eligibility criteria, including 19 Class III (control group), 25 unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP), and 25 bilateral complete cleft lip & palate (BCLP) patients. The axial sections of maxillary CBCT images at the basal-bone (3 mm below ANS & above incisor root apex) and tooth levels (middle1/3 & coronal 1/3 incisor root) were examined for the prevalence of midpalatal suture (suture presence number/group number) & suture extent index (suture length/bone length). The data were analyzed statistically for the intra- and intergroup differences. Results and Discussion: The prevalence of midpalatal suture was 100% in the control group, and it decreased from basal bone to tooth levels in two cleft groups, and was significantly different in BCLP group (p=0.000). For intergroup comparison, the prevalence was not significantly different at the basal bone levels among groups, while, at the coronal 1/3 level, it decreased significantly (p=0.001) in sequence from the Class III, UCLP , to BCLP groups. The suture extent index in all groups showed decreasing pattern with significant differences for intragroup comparison (p=0.000), and significantly lower distribution in tooth levels of BCLP group for intergroup comparison (p=0.000). Conclusion: The type of cleft might be related to the presence and extent of midpalatal suture at the tooth level but not at the basal bone level.