Permanent tooth development in children with cleft lip and palate

The purposes of this study were to: (1) quantify and compare permanent tooth development of cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients to age- and gender-matched controls; (2) relate these findings to cleft type and severity; and (3) examine delays in individual permanent maxillary teeth related to their proximity to the cleft.

Standardized methods using panoramic radiographs were employed to stage dental development and dental age for 49 children with clefts and 49 matched controls. Data were analyzed with a mixed linear model.

Analyses indicated a correlation between delayed permanent tooth development and CLP with an overall delay of 0.52 years (P = .02) and with boys accounting for all the delay. No differences were found between subjects with unilateral or bilateral clefts. A nonsignificant trend was noted for greater delay in subjects with clefts of the primary and secondary palates vs primary palate alone. Teeth most often affected by the delay were maxillary first and second premolars and maxillary second molars.

While permanent tooth development is delayed in cleft lip and palate patients, this delay is: found in boys only; is independent of the cleft type and severity; and is not correlated with proximity to the cleft.