Long-term stability of treatment results in cleft lip and palate patients

The stability of the orthodontic and prosthetic results of the treatment of 18 individuals with isolated cleft of the palate, 18 subjects with a complete unilateral and 8 with a complete bilateral cleft was evaluated in an eight-year follow-up period. The subjects were examined at the age of 19 years, after completed orthodontic and surgical treatment, and again at the age of 27 years. After the first examination the majority of the individuals with a complete cleft had at the age of 20 to 21 years been treated with a fixed bridge which was only minimally extended. The width of the upper dental arch at the second bicuspid decreased slightly in the subjects with an isolated cleft of the palate and in those with a bilateral cleft. In the subjects with a unilateral cleft there was a slight decrease of the upper dental arch widths at both bicuspids and at the first molar. In the subjects with complete clefts the slight decrease in upper dental arch widths was accompanied by a slight increase of the number of posterior teeth in cross-bite. The total number of teeth in cross-bite was small, however. On the whole, the upper dental arch was relatively stable during the follow-up period. This was found in the group with bilateral clefts, reconstructed with 5-8 unit bridges, as well as in the subjects with a unilateral cleft who had received no or only minimally extended reconstructions and in the group with an isolated cleft of the palate (no bridge).