Facial Anthropometry in Cleft Patients: A Historical Appraisal

Abstract

Objective: To present a historical appraisal of the use of anthropological and cephalometrical facial soft tissue measurements in cleft patients. Design: The McDowell Indexes and a Medline search were used to trace references up to 1999. Also, references listed with chapters and articles on facial clefts were searched for anthropometrical studies. Twenty-six retrieved articles and book chapters on soft tissue anthropometry and 12 cephalometric publications on soft tissue measurements on radiographs and plaster casts of cleft patients were reviewed. Results and Conclusions: Since 1931, the facial soft tissue appearance of cleft patients has been evaluated by means of anthropometric and cephalometric techniques. Not all of the older studies were performed in a statistically correct fashion. Many of the conclusions of the studies overlap despite differences in technique of assessment. Most studies demonstrate the deficient growth of the maxilla and the deformities of the facial profile in cleft patients.