Infant Orthopedics and Facial Growth in Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Until Six Years of Age (Dutchcleft)

摘要

To evaluate longitudinally the effect of infant orthopedics (IO) onndentofacial cephalometric variables in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP)npatients from 4 to 6 years of age.nDesign: Prospective two-arm randomized controlled clinical trial in three cleftnpalate centers in The Netherlands (Dutchcleft trial).nPatients: Fifty-four children with complete UCLP.nInterventions: Patients were divided randomly into two groups. Half of thenpatients (IO+) had IO until surgical closure of the soft palate at the age of 652nweeks; the other half (IO2) received no intervention.nMean Outcome Measures: Cephalometric values representing soft tissue,nhard tissue, and dental structures, measured on lateral headfilms made at 4 andn6 years of age.nResults: In the IO+ group, 21 patients were analyzed; in the IO2 group, 20npatients were analyzed at age 4 and 22 at age 6. No differences were foundnbetween IO+ and IO2, except for two measurements: The interincisal angle wasnlarger and the mentolabial angle was smaller in the IO+ group.nConclusions: For infants with UCLP whose surgical management includednsoft palate repair at 12 months and delayed hard palate closure, cephalometricnoutcomes at ages 4 and 6 provide no indication for the type of IO used in thisnstudy.