Tooth maturation in cleft lip, cleft palate, or both

The relation between chronologic age and the development of permanent teeth in patients with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both was investigated according to the method described by Demirjian et al (1973). The patients were divided into three groups: (1) those with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), (2) those with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), and (3) those with cleft palate only (CP). Panoramic radiographs of 107 Caucasian children (66 boys and 41 girls) aged 4 to 12 years were evaluated. The degree of maturation of each of the permanent teeth on the left side of the mandible was determined, and a dental maturation score was computed for each child. The scores were compared with those obtained in a previous study of dental maturation in Caucasian children without cleft from the Chicago area (Loevy, 1983). Evaluation of the data demonstrated that there was no significant difference in dental maturity between girls with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both and with the sample of those free from cleft. There was a significant difference in dental maturity in boys when all cleft groups were evaluated together. There was no significant difference from the normal sample in boys with bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate or with cleft palate alone, but there was a highly significant difference from the normal sample in the group of boys with unilateral cleft lip and palate.