Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Orthodontics

Oro facial anomalies particularly cleft lip and/or palate (CL±P) are a major public health problem in newly born infants affecting one in every 500 to 1000 births worldwide with ethnic and geographic variation. Cleft lip and palate occurs twice as often as cleft lip alone (1). The human embryo's head is formed during the first six to eight weeks of pregnancy. Partial or complete failure of fusion between the embryonic fronto nasal and maxillary prominences results in cleft lip and/or palate which is claimed to be attributed to genetic or environmental factors. Cleft lip results from complete or partial failure of fusion of the maxillary prominence with the medial nasal prominence on one or both sides while, cleft palate results from failure of fusion of the palatine shelves. Egypt is considered the most populous country in the Middle East and the third-most populous country on the African continent with a population of more than 82.5 million people. The literature on the descriptive epidemiology of orofacial clefts does not provide the information about the prevalence of CL±P in Egypt. This study was a part of a project conducted in coordination between the Egyptian ministry of health and orthodontic department representing the Faculty of oral and dental medicine Cairo university to determine the prevalence of cleft lip and/or palate in Egypt and hence, the objective of this study was to estimate the overall prevalence of CL±P in three Egyptian governorates namely Asyut, Damietta and, Suez governorates and possible etiological factors

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