Incidence of bifid uvula and its relationship to submucous cleft palate and a family history of oral cleft in the Brazilian population.

Introduction: Bifid uvula is a frequently observed anomaly in the general population and can be regarded as a marker for submucous cleft palate.

Objective: In this study aimed to determine the frequency of bifid uvula and submucous cleft palate and their relationship with oral clefts in a Brazilian population.

Methods: We conducted a transversal, descriptive and quantitative study of 1206 children between August 2014 and December 2015. A clinical examination of the children was conducted by means of inspection of the oral cavity with the aid of a tongue depressor and directed light. After the clinical examination in children, parents answered a questionnaire with questions about basic demographic information and their family history of oral clefts in their first-degree relatives. After application of the questionnaires, the information collected was archived in a database and analyzed by the statistical program SPSS version 19.0, by applying Chi-Square tests. Values with p<0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the 1206 children included in this study, 608 (50.40%) were female and 598 (49.60%) were male (p=0.773). The average age of children was 3.75 years (standard deviation±3.78 years). Of the 1206 children studied, 6 (0.5%) presented with bifid uvula. Submucosal cleft palate was not found in any child. When the family histories of children were examined for the presence of nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or cleft palate, no first degree relatives presented with the congenital anomaly.

Conclusion: This study revealed that the incidence of bifid uvula and submucous cleft palate in this population was quite similar to previously reported incidence rates. Our study suggests an intensification of new reviews, with broader and diverse populations, seeking to associate the occurrence of bifid uvula, submucous cleft palate and oral clefts.