Effects of Palate Repair on Cranial Base and Maxillary Morphology in Patients With Unilateral Complete Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To identify the effects of palate repair on cranial base and maxillary morphology in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and to discover the relevance between cranial base and maxilla through cephalometric analysis. Design: Retrospective. Patients: Thirty-seven UCLP patients with operated lip (OL) and unoperated palate constituted OL group and were classified into 5 cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages. Thirty-seven UCLP patients with operated lip and palate (OLP) and 37 noncleft people with skeletal class I malocclusion were CVM- and sex-matched with the OL group as OLP group and control group, respectively. CVM stage I and II were combined into group 1, CVM stage III to V were combined into group 2. Interventions: Lateral cephalograms of all participants were obtained. Main Outcome Measures: Cephalometric analysis was employed, and data were compared among groups. Results: Length of posterior cranial base (Ba-S) of the OL group was shorter than controls in group 1; Ba-S and the ratio between length of posterior and anterior cranial base (Ba-S/S-N) of the OL and OLP groups were smaller than controls in group 2. No significant differences in cranial base were found between the OL and OLP groups. In group 1, patients of the OLP group showed smaller SNA, ANS-Ptm, and ANS-Ptm/S-N, and patients of the OL group showed smaller ANS-Ptm. In group 2, both OL and OLP groups had smaller sella-nasion-A point angle (SNA), projection distance between ANS and Ptm points on FH plane (ANS-Ptm), and the ratio between ANS-Ptm and anterior cranial base length (ANS-Ptm/S-N). Conclusions: Palate repair seems to have no obvious effects on cranial base morphology in patients with UCLP. Those patients with lip operated, whether cleft palate operated or not, tend to have a smaller length of maxilla sagittally and this deformity progresses with age.

A new lizard skull from the Purbeck Limestone Group (Lower Cretaceous) of England

The Purbeck Limestone Group of England has yielded a rich assemblage of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) vertebrate fossils, including one of the most diverse Early Cretaceous lizard assemblages on record. Here we describe the first articulated lizard skull from Purbeck. The specimen was rediscovered in the collections of the British Geological Survey, having been excavated at least a century ago. Although originally assigned to the Purbeck genus Paramacellodus, with which it shares maxillary and some dental characters, the new Purbeck skull differs from other Purbeck genera, including Paramacellodus, in frontal, pterygoid and maxillary morphology. It is here assigned to a new genus and species. Cladistic analysis groups it with Lacertoidea, unlike Paramacellodus, Becklesius and Parasaurillus which group with scincids and cordyliforms.

Effects of Airway Problems on Maxillary Growth: A Review

ABSTRACTThe volume of air passing through the nose and nasopharinx is limited by its shape and diameter. Continuous airflow through the nasal passage during breathing induces a constant stimulus for the lateral growth of maxilla and for lowering of the palatal vault. Maxillary morphological differences exist between patients with airway problems and control groups, identifying a potential etiological role in these patients. The purpose of this article was to review the literature on the interaction between airway problems and expressed maxillary morphology including specific dental and skeletal malocclusions. Statistically significant differences were found between patients with airway problems and control groups, in maxillary skeletal morphology including shorter maxillary length, more proclined maxillary incisors, thicker and longer soft palate, narrower maxillary arch and higher palatal vault. (Eur J Dent 2009;3:250-254)