Alveolar bone grafting for patients with unilateral complete alveolar and palatal clefts improves the bony structure of the nose

Objective: This is a retrospective study regarding the effect of alveolar bone grafting (ABG) on morphological changes in the bony structure of the nose in alveolar and palatal cleft patients. Methods: Sixty-five randomly selected adults were included in the present study. Of the 65 subjects, 21 had no congenital anomaly and were designated as the control group (n = 21; mean age 22.4 ± 4.3 years). Forty-four had unilateral complete clefts of the alveolus and palate on the left side. The patients with clefts were further divided into two subgroups based on presence or absence of ABG in their histories. These groups were termed the ABG(+) group (n = 24; mean age 20.3 ± 2.5 years) and the ABG(-) group (n = 20; mean age 32 ± 4.5 years), respectively. An anatomical structure that constitutes the bony component of the nose was defined. This structure, composed of the nasal bones and part of the frontal process of the maxilla, was termed the BSEN (bony structure of the external nose). The symmetry of the BSEN was assessed quantitatively by performing morphological measurements on computerized tomographic Images of each patient's skull, and these measurements were compared among the control, ABG(+), and ABG(-) groups. Results: The BSEN presented more symmetric features in the ABG(+) group patients than in the ABG(-) group patients. Conclusion: ABG improves symmetry of the BSEN. This finding justifies ABG in terms of cosmetic improvement of the external nose in patients with unilateral complete alveolar and palatal clefts.