Research Article: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Dental Arch Relationship and Palatal Morphology after Cleft Surgery in Italian Children with Unilateral Cleft and Lip Palate
Abstract:
Dental arch relationships (DARs) and palatal morphology (PM) were evaluated in in non-syndromic complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) Italian patients after surgery. Pre- and postnatal factors affecting the results were investigated. Sixty-six children with UCLP (40 boys and 26 girls, with a mean age of 10.1 ± 2.9 years), predominantly Caucasian (77%), were consecutively enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Twenty children had received a one-stage protocol consisting of an early periosteal palate surgical repair and lip closure and forty-six were submitted to a staged surgical protocol with delayed palate repair (DPR). A single clinician collected data on their medical history and carried out a dental examination. The DAR and PM were graded on dental casts according to the Eurocran index and dichotomised as favourable and unfavourable based on the treatment outcome. Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that female sex (OR = 6.08, 95% CI: 1.47–25.23, p = 0.013), DPR (OR = 4.77, 95% CI: 1.14–19.93, p = 0.032) and the use of a neonatal plate (OR = 4.68, 95% CI: 1.27–17.16, p = 0.020) increased the odds of having favourable DAR, while only DPR (OR = 9.76, 95% CI: 2.40–39.71, p = 0.001) was significantly associated with a favourable PM. Based on these findings, only DPR had a significantly favourable effect on both DAR and DM in Italian children with complete UCLP.
Introduction:
Cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) is the most frequent malformation of the craniofacial district, with significant geographic and ethnic variations [1,2]. CLP is less prevalent in Africa (1/2500) and Europe (1/1000) compared to Indo-America and Asia (1/500), while the frequency of CP is similar among ethnic groups (0.5/1000) [2]. In Italy, the prevalence of isolated oro-facial clefts from 2001 to 2014 was estimated to be approximately 1.03 cases per 1000 live births, with unilateral cleft lip and palate…
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