Cleft lip and palate: 3Dimensional evaluation of the dental arch

Objective: The purpose of this paper was a cross-sectional evaluation of the dental arches width in children with cleft lip and palate from 3 to 9 months before the primary surgery in a teaching hospital.

Method: The sample was composed of 50 patients with cleft lip and palate and 25 patients without cleft lip and palate. The evaluation was performed by digital models for each patient, which was measured by the correlation between the groups. The upper area of the dental arches was evaluation by means of 3Dimensional images. They were measured independently by two examiners who assigned numbers to each measurement, referring to the expected reproducibility.

Result: The results showed that there was significant difference between the groups. In the period, intra and inter-observer reproducibility was acceptable from 0.7 to 1.0. The correlation of the 3Dimensional images between cleft lip and palate group had significantly smaller palatal surface area than without cleft lip and palate group.

Conclusion: The study of the dental arches with cleft lip and palate provides important information that will contribute to a better understanding of the etiology, prevalence and treatment, which may be useful in preventive and rehabilitation therapies. The findings study suggests that the 3Dimension evaluation of the dental arch should be included in the diagnostic records to determine precise treatment planning and final occlusion in cleft lip and palate patients.