The case for early bone grafting in cleft lip and palate: a second report

In 1982, the first long-term study of our early bone-grafting and infant maxillary orthopedic approach to newborn complete clefts of the lip, alveolus, and palate was published. The protocol and sequence of procedures were shown on the first 16 consecutively treated orthodontic patients, with a mean age of 14 years. Cephalometric analysis evaluated anteroposterior and vertical facial growth. This report follows the next 37 consecutively treated individuals in a similar manner and includes not only 20 complete unilateral clefts, but also 17 complete bilateral clefts. Results, when evaluated alone and in comparison with the original series, show once again that there are no adverse growth restraints and that early primary bone grafting in our protocol leads to teeth in better overall occlusion than if it had not been undertaken.