The craniofacial morphology in persons with maxillonasal dysplasia (Binder syndrome). A longitudinal cephalometric study of orthodontically treated children.

The aim of this investigation was to study the influence of orthodontic treatment on facial growth in subjects with maxillonasal dysplasia. The subjects were followed longitudinally from early childhood until growth was completed or almost completed. Fifteen patients, 9 boys and 6 girls, were orthodontically treated by conventional methods. They were compared with (1) another longitudinal group consisting of 13 orthodontically untreated children, 7 boys and 6 girls with the same syndrome, and (2) with a control material taken from computer-filed data on Swedish children and young adults with orthognatic profiles and normal occlusion. The orthodontic treatment led to acceptable dental conditions in 10 of the patients. No influence on craniofacial growth could be demonstrated. However, the mean facial polygons of the children showed that certain differences already existed at early ages between the treated subjects with a generally more severe form of the syndrome and the untreated children. The growth pattern seemed, however, to follow about the same rate in both groups. In six patients the orthodontic treatment was followed by surgical correction at adult age to solve their craniofacial problems. The optimum care of these patients requires an interdisciplinary treatment approach with thorough treatment planning by orthodontists in collaboration with oral and plastic surgeons.