Right Technique, Right Time: A Retrospective Analysis on Dental Arch Relationships for Patients with Total Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate. A Comparison between Early and Late Closure of the Hard Palate.

• Main Authors: Sibe, Filippa, Ganoo, Tulika
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för odontologi 2017
• Subjects: cleft lip palate; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-143063

Surgical closure of cleft palate improves function and esthetics but affects facial growth. The effect depends on age of the patient at the time for surgery. The study aimed to compare early versus late closure of the hard palate and its effect on dental arch relationship at the age of five for patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). The study included 40 non-syndromic, Caucasian children with UCLP. All patients had their surgeries performed by the regional cleft-team at University Hospital of Umeå, Sweden, according to the protocol for treatment of UCLP. The patients were divided into early closure (operation age: approximately 2 years, n = 20) and late closure (operation age 4 - 8 years, n = 20). Dental arch relationships were analyzed on dental casts (n = 36) or clinical photos (n = 4) taken at the age of five using the modified Huddart and Bodenham (mHB) scoring system. The results showed that there was significant difference (P = 0.035) in mHB total score between early closure (median - 6.69) and late closure (median - 3.63). Children who had an early closure of the hard palate had a statistically significant lower mHB total score, and hence worse dental arch relationship compared to children with a late closure.