The oral health of children with clefts--a review

A review of the studies of the caries prevalence and periodontal health of patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) revealed that only five investigations of caries prevalence in CLP patients included children. One reported that CLP children did not have a higher caries prevalence in the permanent dentition, whereas more recent studies have reported a higher caries prevalence in both the primary and permanent dentitions of CLP children than in those of noncleft children. However, there is wide variation in the teeth examined and the method of presenting data on caries prevalence. Six papers have reported on the periodontal health of adult CLP patients, and only one has done so on that of children. The adult CLP patients had poorer oral hygiene and more gingivitis, but there is no conclusive evidence that they have a higher risk of developing periodontal disease. No data on the oral hygiene of CLP children were available, but it has been emphasized that they have significantly more gingivitis than noncleft children, especially in the maxillary anterior teeth.