Assessment of dental arch relationships in 5-year-old children with unilateral cleft lip and palate after neonatal cleft lip repair

Abstract

Background Non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the most common craniofacial malformations. The purpose of this study was to assess the dental arch relationships in 5-year-old children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and to compare the results with the data published by other cleft centers. Methods The models of forty-six patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate taken at the age of five were scored. Neonatal cleft lip repair and one-stage palatal closure at the age from 6 to 13 months were performed in all patients by the same surgeon according to the same protocol. The outcomes of the dental arch relationships were assessed and categorized by three orthodontists experienced in cleft care; for scoring the 5 Year Olds´ index was used. Results The mean score of the 5 Year Olds´ index was 2.42. Of all the patients, 57% belonged to groups 1 and 2 (good result), 24% to group 3 (fair result), and 19% to groups 4 and 5 (poor result). These results were compared with the data published by other cleft centers. The outcomes of our method were comparable to the results achieved by other cleft centers which followed different surgical protocols. Conclusions The results of our study showed that neonatal cleft lip repair and one-stage palatal closure lead to satisfactory maxillary growth and interdental relationships.