The impact of nonsyndromic oral clefts on family quality of life

This study aimed to assess the impact of nonsyndromic oral cleft (NSOC) on families' quality of life (QoL) using the Brazilian version of the Family Impact Scale (B-FIS). A hospital-based case-control study was conducted with NSOC cases and unaffected controls recruited at Dental Clinic in Federal University. The mean B-FIS scores were 10.32 (SD 6.53) and 5.04 (SD 4.73), while the median scores were 9.00 and 3.50 (p < .05 Wilcoxon test), respectively, in case and control group. The "parental/family activity" subscale had the highest impact average score in case (5.62 SD 3.76) and control group (3.00 SD 3.08) (p < .05 Mann-Whitney test). The types of cleft with the most impact were cleft lip (12.00 SD 8.98) and cleft lip with cleft palate (11.06 SD 6.74). NSOC affects the QoL of families with children who have this condition; however, there were no remarkable differences between the groups.