Esthetic views on facial and dental appearance in young adults with treated bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP). A comparison between professional and non-professional evaluators.

The aim of the present study was to make a comparison between the professional and non-professional evaluations concerning the esthetic outcome after the completion of patients who have been treated for bilateral cleft lip and palate. A web-based questionnaire, with 12 photo sets, was answered by 25 orthodontists and 20 young adults who had been treated with orthodontic fixed appliances. They ranked the three first features they noticed when looking at each photo set, and then rated specific variables as being bad, fairly good, good, or excellent. At the end of each set, they had an opportunity to add any additional comments. The three features first noticed by the orthodontists were 'the upper lip', 'the nose' and 'the scar'. The young adults reported first 'the teeth', 'the upper lip' and 'occlusion/alignment of the teeth'. The specific variables similarly rated by orthodontists and young adults were 'the profile of the face', 'the form of the upper lip' and 'the entire facial appearance'. The orthodontists were less critical than the young adults concerning 'the upper teeth alignment', 'the lower teeth alignment', 'shape of the upper teeth', and 'color of the upper teeth'. The individual opinion on each separate set of photos was additionally important in explaining the rating, regardless the category of being either orthodontists or young adults.