Cephalometric analysis of parents of patients with cleft lip and/or palate.

Background: Cleft lip and/or palate (CL ± P) or isolated cleft palate (CP) are the most common congenital malformations of the face. Although there have been advances in prenatal diagnosis and the discovery of genetic markers, there has been no breakthrough in the identification of parents at risk of giving birth to a child with a cleft.

Aims: To determine a possible phenotypic difference in the craniofacial morphology of parents of children with CL ± P and to investigate whether cephalometric analysis can help identify parents at risk of giving birth to a child with a cleft.

Methods: Cephalometric data of 25 sets of parents having children with CL ± P were compared with that of 25 sets of parents of children without CL ± P. The study population was indigenous to North Karnataka. In all, 10 linear, 2 angular, and 5 triangular measurements were made on lateral cephalograms and compared using an unpaired t‑test.

Results: The length of the posterior cranial base (S-Ba) in mothers was smaller in the study compared to the control group. Total facial height (N-Me) both in fathers and in the group with both parents, upper facial height in the group with both parents, and lower facial height (ANS-Me) in fathers was smaller in the study than in the control group. The area of the nasopharyngeal triangle (S-PNS-Ba) in mothers and that of the anterior maxillary triangle (S-N-A) in fathers was smaller in the study group than in the control group.

Conclusion: Parents of children with CL ± P showed variations in craniofacial morphology. Future research correlating cephalometric findings with genetic studies may indicate whether cephalometric analysis can be an adjunct to genetic tests for risk prediction among susceptible parents.