Objective: To compare esthetic rating of nasolabial appearance among young adult patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP),
young adult laypersons, and healthcare professionals.
Material and Method: Frontal and cleft side profile facial pictures of a 19-year-old patient with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) were adjusted (frontal view: incremental 2 degrees per picture to simulate 10 pictures for nasal tip deviation and 14 pictures for alar base asymmetry; profile view: with incremental 3 degrees per picture to simulate 14 pictures for nasolabial angle). Fifty-seven examiners were randomly selected and grouped into three, namely patients with CLP, young adult laypersons, and healthcare professionals to assess nasolabial esthetics using a 5-point scale. Intra- and inter-examiner reliability tests showed good agreement. The Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson’s Chi-square test were used.
Results: No significant differences were found among the three groups of examiners in esthetic rating of nasal tip deviation,
alar base asymmetry and nasolabial angle pictures which had 10 to 21 degrees difference from reference pictures.
Conclusion: There is no difference in esthetic perception of nasolabial appearance among the young adult patients with CLP, young adult laypersons, and healthcare professionals. Nasal tip deviation might be considered as the main factor in assessment of frontal nasolabial appearance of UCLP patients.

Keywords: Cleft lip, Cleft palate, Esthetics, Nasolabial appearance