Radiological evaluation of secondar y bone grafting results in patients with cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Introduction. Bone grafts are a necessary component of the care protocol for patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP). Radiological evaluation is an essential tool in evaluating the integration of the bone graft at the cleft area. Aim: Evaluation of the interdental height of the alveolar ridge in patients with CLP at the pre- and postoperative stages in order to assess the integration of bone graft in the cleft area. Material and methods: Cross-sectional clinical study, which included 34 patients with CLP; with equal distribution by gender, with an average age of 17.6±0.43 years. The study group underwent surgical treatment with bone grafting in the cleft region. The radiological evaluation was performed pre- and postoperatively (over 6 months), according to the scale of assessment proposed by Abyholm et al. Statistical evaluation of the data was performed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Overall, favorable postoperative results were observed. Initially, according to the radiological evaluation, the patients presented at the preoperative stage type III 29.4% (n = 10) and type IV - 70.6% (n = 24) of the interdental height of the alveolar ridge. Following bone grafting, it was recorded at 52.9% (n = 18) - type I, mainly in female patients (n = 11) and 47.1% (n = 16) - type II of the interdental height of the alveolar ridge , being predominantly registered in male patients (n = 10). Statistically significant differences between the sexes were not recorded (p = 0.132). The successful results obtained by secondary bone grafting in the cleft region allowed to continue the rehabilitation treatment of patients with CLP. Conclusion: Radiological evaluation of secondary bone grafting in the cleft area in terms of assessing the height of the alveolar ridge according to the scale of Abyholm et al. is a valuable diagnostic tool, readily available for assessing the condition of the grafted bone.