Evaluation of dental arch relationship of patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate applying bilateral yardstick

Cristiane Lucas de Farias Luz, Terumi Okada Ozawa, Rafael Arouca, Amanda Ohashi, Daiana Broll

Journal of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies 2017 4(3):167-172

Aims: This study aims to verify the applicability and reliability of the Bilateral yardstick on the assessment of interarch relationship in patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) through three-dimensional (3D) virtual casts. Setting and Design: A total of 112 individuals with BCLP, aging 6–12 years old, with no associated syndromes, free from previous orthodontic treatment and from secondary bone grafting. Methods: Plaster casts from the 112 individuals were obtained, randomly numbered and scanned, generating a 3D digital image. Three calibrated orthodontists used the Bilateral yardstick to classify, in two rounds, the interarch relationship on the virtual casts. Descriptive statistics were employed to describe the frequencies of the scores of the Bilateral yardstick. Weighted Kappa statistics were calculated to determine intra- and inter-rater reliability. Results: Raters reported no difficulties in the employment of the Bilateral yardstick on 3D virtual casts. Good occlusal relationship or minor deviation was observed in 60 (53.6%) individuals. No more than 13 (11.6%) patients were classified as having a poor arch form. Intraexaminer kappa values were higher than 0.93 (confidence interval [CI] 0.88–0.98), and interexaminer agreement was higher than 0.78 (CI 0.69–0.87). Conclusion: Bilateral yardstick proved to be applicable to the assessment of dental arch relationship of patients with BCLP through 3D virtual casts. Weighted kappa values indicated good intrarater and good-to-very good agreement, supporting the reliability of this yardstick when employed to virtual casts. Further studies should be encouraged to face the actual lack of evidence in this field.

from #ORL-AlexandrosSfakianakis via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2BbMYax