This proposal will focus on dental development to subphenotype common multifactorial isolated cleft lip and palate on cleft cases and their family members. By combining the dental phenotype with cleft phenotype, new clinical definitions will be created. These new clinical definitions will be used to investigate candidate genes and modifiers of gene expression of these anomalies. We hypothesize that tooth agenesis and/or other dental anomalies could be clinical markers for the risk of having a child with isolated cleft lip and palate.

If our hypothesis is confirmed, we will be able to offer a powerful tool for advancing etiologic studies of cleft lip and palate, which also will improve genetic counseling. Dental exams could be applied as a screening tool for modifying individual risks for cleft lip and palate.