Objective: Evaluate condylar, ramal, and condylar plus ramal vertical mandibular asymmetry in patients with unilateral posterior crossbite (UPCB) and in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) compared with subjects having normal occlusion.
Design: This cross-sectional study evaluated panoramic radiographs of three groups of subjects: UPCB, 20 patients; UCLP, 20 patients; and normal occlusion sample, 20 subjects. All subjects were picked at random from Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, and all films were traced and measured manually by the same author.
Results: Kruskal-Wallis test revealed no statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in condylar asymmetry index (CAI), ramal asymmetry index (RAI), and condylar plus ramal asymmetry index (C + RAI) among the three groups. The average CAI for group UPCB was 9.03 ± 7.65; 8.03 ± 6.89 for group UCLP; 6.93 ± 9.87 for normal group. Mean RAI for group UPCB was 2.53 ± 2.52; 2.61 ± 1.22 for group UCLP; 2.65 ± 1.90 for normal group.
Conclusions: Condylar asymmetry was observed in all three groups (UPCB, UCLP and normal occlusion) because condylar asymmetry indexes were higher in each group at the 3 % threshold. No statistically significant differences were found among the three study groups for any of the asymmetry indexes.