Tooth development in children with cleft lip and palate: a longitudinal study from birth to adolescence

Dental maturity was assessed in 131 children with cleft lip with or without cleft palate in two age groups from panoramic X-rays using the method of Demirjian. The subjects showed a mean delay of 6 months in the age group of 3-9 years (x = 6.4 years), which decreased to 2 months in the age group of 8-14 years (x = 11.0 years). Involvement of the palate made the delay longer than in children with cleft lip only. Geographical differences between parts of Finland were also found. To study tooth development longitudinally, the timing of the beginning of calcification of one maxillary central incisor was assessed from occlusal X-rays taken between the ages of 2 and 18 months in 107 of the above mentioned 131 subjects. Using rank-order correlations, the beginning of the calcification of the maxillary central incisor weakly predicted the subjects' tooth developmental status. The correlation of dental maturity between the ages of 6 and 11 years was, however, high.