Cleft Palates and Occlusal Outcomes in Pierre Robin Sequence.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the dental class occlusion and lateral cephalometry of children with conservatively treated Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) and to identify associations between these findings and prepalatoplasty cleft palate measurements.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Among 22 patients with PRS, the following data were prospectively collected: demographics and preoperative cleft palate measurements. After patients reached age 6 years, an orthodontist assessed dental occlusion class and performed a lateral cephalometric analysis. PRS cephalometric data were compared with reference population values. Bivariate logistic regression was used to test the association with malocclusion class. Results are presented as odds ratios with 95% profile likelihood confidence intervals. The association between cleft measurements and cephalometric parameters was tested with Spearman's correlation ( rs).

RESULTS: All 22 patients had bimaxillary hypoplasia and were prone to hyperdivergency, with a 41% rate of dental class III malocclusion. An increased anterior growth of the still retrusive mandible mostly accounts for the occurrence of the class III malocclusion in PRS (class II SNB = 74.3° vs class III SNB = 77.6°, P = .04). A larger cleft at the time of the cleft repair (mean, 11 months) was associated with increased mandibular retrusion (smaller SNB angle, rs = -0.5, P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS: The 41% rate of class III malocclusion among these conservatively treated patients needs to be considered in the choice of the initial airway approach. The future impact of early mandibular advancement will have to be determined.