Pharyngeal Airway Architecture in Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate by Cone-beam Computed Tomography: Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND

The most prevalent congenital abnormality in the head and neck area is an orofacial cleft. These abnormalities can have a major effect on facial development, especially in the maxilla, pharyngeal airway, and midface. Additionally, children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) have been found to have medical conditions such as velopharyngeal insufficiency, adenoid hypertrophy, respiratory constriction, sleep issues, and obstructive sleep apneas (OSAs), significantly affecting the quality of life.This review aims to evaluate the literature for pharyngeal airway changes using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in individuals with unilateral and bilateral cleft palates (ULCP and BLCP) and controls.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A systematic review (PROSPERO#CRD42024595549 and PRISMA 2020 checklist) was planned to evaluate the literature according to the norms prescribed by the Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions by searching from the electronic databases of Medline, Embase, PubMed, and WOS involving studies only in human and text in English literature. Independently, the data and risk of bias/assessment of quality were reviewed by two investigators (JNZ and JL) for inclusion.

RESULTS

A chart that adheres to the PRISMA declaration presents the findings of the literature search, including the inclusion and removal of publications. The articles for evaluation were those that were released between 2012 and 2025; only 34 articles were taken into consideration for further review.

CONCLUSION

There are currently few studies comparing cleft and noncleft situations that use 3D radiography to examine the pharyngeal airway in CLP patients. Several recent studies have evaluated the pharyngeal airway in cleft patients using CBCT, yielding conflicting results. Based on the current limited evidence, a further high-quality study is required.

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Rai S, Bhateja S. Pharyngeal Airway Architecture in Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate by Cone-beam Computed Tomography: Review of Literature. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2025;18(9):1168-1180.