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Associations of some variables to tooth formation in children with isolated cleft palate
Insights
Children with isolated cleft palate (CP) experience delayed permanent tooth formation. This delay is exacerbated by hypodontia (missing teeth) and is more pronounced in older children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Craniofacial Anomalies
- Dental Development
Background:
- Isolated cleft palate (CP) is a common congenital anomaly.
- Tooth formation timing is a key indicator of developmental progress.
- Understanding developmental delays in CP is crucial for clinical management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the timing of permanent tooth formation in children with isolated cleft palate.
- To identify factors influencing tooth formation delay in this population.
- To explore the genetic and developmental implications of observed delays.
Main Methods:
- Orthopantomograms of 251 children aged 6-12 years with isolated cleft palate were analyzed.
- Tooth formation timing was compared to a non-cleft reference group.
- Subgroup analyses were conducted based on family history, lip characteristics, and cleft severity.
Main Results:
- Children with cleft palate showed an average delay of 0.7 years in permanent tooth formation.
- Hypodontia significantly promoted this delay, with more missing teeth correlating to longer delays.
- Older children (9-12 years) exhibited a greater delay (1.1 years) than younger children (6-9 years, 0.6 years).
Conclusions:
- Tooth formation timing is significantly affected in children with isolated cleft palate.
- Findings support a multifactorial etiology where genetic components may indirectly influence development by reducing buffering capacity.
- A partly genetic etiology is suggested for some sporadic cleft palate cases.
Abstract:
The timing of tooth formation in 251 children, affected with isolated cleft palate without syndromes or other concomitant visceral anomalies (CP), was evaluated from orthopantomograms. The age range was 6-12 yr. The formation of the permanent teeth was delayed approximately 0.7 yr in CP children compared with the data on the non-cleft reference group. There were no differences in sex distribution between the CP group and the non-cleft reference group and between the CP subgroups. No significant differences in tooth formation could be detected between the subgroups; with and without positive family history of clefts, with and without conical elevation of the lower lip, and between the subgroups of submucous, partial and complete cleft of the palate. The presence of hypodontia promoted the delay significantly and the delay increased with increasing number of missing teeth per child. In the older age group of 9-12 yr, the delay was significantly longer (1.1 yr) than in the younger age group of 6-9 yr (0.6 yr). The present findings of tooth formation support the hypothesis that the genetic component in the multifactorial situation does not act directly in producing the malformation itself, but indirectly, through a reduction in buffering. Furthermore, at least some of the sporadic cases have a partly genetic etiology.