Clinical study on the anomalies of number and morphology in cleft lip and palate patients' teeth

Baek, Seung Hak; Yang, Won Sik

Abstract

Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is one of the most common congenital craniofacial anomalies and occurs more frequently in Asian people. Dental abnormalities in number, size, shape, and eruption of teeth are frequently associated with CLP. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of CLP on number, size, shape and eruption of teeth and to provide basic clinical data for diagnosis and treatment of the CLP patients. With the orthodontic and cleft charts, diagnostic models, orthopantomograms and intraoral x-ray films from 241 CLP patients who visited Dept. of Orthodontics, Seoul National University Dental Hospital, we evaluated the frequency of congenital missing teeth, supernumerary teeth, impacted teeth, and microdontia. The results were as follows ; 1. Frequency of congenital missing was relatively high up to 56.8 %. Congenital missing occurred frequently in the maxillary lateral incisor and the maxillary second premolar. Among the CLP types, frequencies of congenital missing in cleft lip and palate group and cleft lip and alveolus group were higher than those of cleft lip group and cleft palate group. And bilateral cleft showed higher frequencies than unilateral ones. 2. Supernumerary tooth was shown in 11.2 % of CLP patients. It occurred frequently in the area between the maxillary lateral incisors and the maxillary canine. Among the CLP types, cleft lip group showed relatively most highest frequency. 3. Impaction was shown in 18.3 % of CLP patients. It occurred most frequently in the maxillary lateral incisor and the maxillary canine than other teeth. Among the CLP types, cleft lip group and cleft lip and palate group showed most highest frequencies. 4. Microdontia was shown in 15.8 % of CLP patients. It occurred the most frequently in the maxillary lateral incisors and maxillary canines. Among the CLP types, cleft lip and alveolus group and cleft lip and palate group showed relatively higher frequencies. There was no microdontia in cleft palate group.