Prevalence of Dental Anomalies in Patients With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Alveolus Treated With Gingivoperiosteoplasty.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of dental malformations and agenesis in patients who received or did not receive gingivoperiosteoplasty (GPP).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Patients: Review of patients born January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2007, with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus, with or without clefting of the secondary palate, who received GPP and/or secondary alveolar bone grafting (ABG). Patients were included if they had clinical images and dental radiographs available at ages 5 to 9 and 10 to 12 years. Ninety-four patients met the inclusion criteria; 46 treated with GPP, and 48 who did not receive GPP.

Outcome Measures: Records were assessed for supernumerary, missing, and malformed teeth by a blinded examiner, and prevalence compared between groups using χ tests.

Results: Cleft side lateral incisors were absent in 54% of GPP patients, compared to 50% in the no-GPP group. Two patients in the GPP group and 1 in the no-GPP group had supernumerary lateral incisors. Most lateral incisors were undersized or peg shaped in both the no-GPP (83.3%) and GPP (71.4%) groups. In the GPP group, 5 (10.9%) patients exhibited central incisor agenesis, and 3 had significant hypoplasia. In the no-GPP group, 4 (8.3%) patients exhibited central incisor agenesis, and 5 (10.5%) significant hypoplasia. These differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Gingivoperiosteoplasty was not associated with increased prevalence of dental malformation or agenesis. When performed appropriately, GPP is a safe treatment technique that does not increase the risk of dental anomalies.