The prevalence of anomalies of the upper cervical vertebrae in subjects with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of cervical vertebral anomalies in individuals with cleft palate only (CPO) and bilateral (BCLP) and unilateral (UCLP) complete cleft lip and palate and make a comparison with a group without cleft. Setting: This retrospective comparison was performed at the Dental Unit, Department of Plastic Surgery, National Hospital and at the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Material and Methods: Six hundred eleven subjects (334 boys, 277 girls) with three different cleft subtypes at age 6 years or older and 264 children (121 boys, 143 girls) without clefts were included in this study. Their lateral cephalometric radiographs were studied for cervical vertebral anomalies and categorized into posterior arch deficiencies or fusions. Results: In the total cleft sample, 111 subjects (18.2%) had cervical vertebral anomalies; of these, 10 subjects had more than one anomaly. Posterior arch deficiency was found in 7.7% and fusions in 12.1%. In the sample without cleft, 9.1% had cervical vertebral anomalies, 5% posterior arch deficiency, and 4.1% fusions. When the cleft sample was divided into the three cleft subtypes, the prevalence of cervical vertebral anomalies was 25.6% in the CPO group, 16.3% in the BCLP group, and 11.1% in the UCLP group. Differences were statistically significant between the CPO and the group without cleft for both posterior arch deficiency and fusion anomalies (p <.01). Conclusion: Cervical vertebral anomalies occur more frequently in individuals with clefts as compared with those without clefts. This was statistically significant for the CPO group.