1996 Volume 42 Issue 3 Pages 277-286
We used a mandibular kinegiograph (MKG) to evaluate mandibular movement in cleft lip and/or palate patients, especially those who received orthodontic treatment. A total of 25 patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP group) who had completed orthodontic treatment at the Clinics for Maxillo-oral Disorders, Tohoku University School of Dentistry, and 25 non-cleft volunteers (control group) of similar age were studied.
Tracings of 10 variables of three major movements of the mandible (habitual opening and closing stroke, rapid opening and closing stroke, and rest position) were recorded and assessed by pattern analysis. Furthermore, the intensity of the mandibular movement disorder was classified and evaluated by scoring the 10 variables of mandibular movement on a scale of from 0 to 10 to derive the total mandibular kinetic score (TMK score). The results obtained were as follows:
1. In the individual pattern analysis of habitual opening and closing stroke, rapid opening and closing stroke and rest position, more aberrant movement patterns were seen in the UCLP group than in the control group.
2. In the TMK score evaluation, the mean TMK score in the UCLP group was 4.5 as compared with 1.8 in the control group, showing that the intensity of mandibular movement disorder was also higher in the UCLP group than in the control group.
3. Maxillomandibular asymmetry seems to affect the mandibular movement disorders in UCLP patients who undergo orthodontic treatment.
4. This study showed that the analysis of mandibular movement is important in the orthodontic care of cleft lip and/or palate patients. Further analyses of factors affecting mandibular movement are needed.
