Evaluation and Comparison of Condylar Head Inclination With Respect to Glenoid Fossa in Cleft, Class III, and Class I Individuals

Background: Cleft lip and palate are the most common congenital craniofacial defects, which need early intervention with a multidisciplinary approach including surgeons, orthodontists, speech therapists, pedodontists, etc. Craniofacial growth is affected the most, leading to marked skeletal discrepancies. Constricted maxillary arch is one of the reasons for faulty occlusal inclined planes which results in abnormal loading of condyles, thus leading to temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) in cleft. Condylar head inclination helps to evaluate the position of condyle in the glenoid fossa. Thus, changing the position of condylar head in the glenoid fossa at an early age prevents further worsening of TMD condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate condylar inclination in individuals with cleft lip and palate and compare it with non-cleft individuals. Method: The study comprised of 40 subjects aged between 9 and 12 years, divided into 4 groups (10 in each)—unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), and class III and class I malocclusion. Scanned three-dimensional digital volume tomography (3D-DVT) images were taken, and condylar head inclination was evaluated and compared. Result: Significant findings were obtained when group 1 was compared to group 2, group 3, and group 4 ( P-value = .001). Also, when group 2 was compared to group 3 and group 4, the values were statistically significant with P-value = .001. Conclusion: Condylar head inclination was found to be most anteriorly angulated in the class III group compared to all the other groups. Unilateral cleft lip and palate had more anteriorly angulated condyle than bilateral cleft lip and palate.