Supraperiosteal flap technique versus mucoperiosteal flap technique in cleft palate surgery

Recent animal experiments have shown that palatal repair without denudation of bone leads to a superior dento-alveolar development. The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the peri- and postoperative course and the dento-alveolar development of the deciduous dentition in Japanese ULCP, and CP patients up to 5 years after two different types of palatal repair. One of the methods, the Kohama (1991) supraperiosteal flap technique, is performed without denudation of the bony palate, while the other, the Wardill (1937) push-back technique, results in areas of denuded bone. It was concluded that the supraperiosteal technique can be performed successfully in approximately the same amount of time as the push-back technique. Re-epithelialization of the wound areas after supraperiosteal repair takes about 1 week, which is one third of the time associated with healing after the push-back technique. Arch depth of the deciduous dentition after the supraperiosteal technique is superior compared to the push-back technique. The question of whether or not the supraperiosteal technique produces more favorable dento-alveolar development than the mucoperiosteal technique in the permanent dentition in humans has to be elucidated in future research.