Infant Orthopedics Has No Effect on Maxillary Arch Dimensions in the Deciduous Dentition of Children with Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate (Dutchcleft)

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of the effect of infant orthopedics on maxillary arch dimensions in the deciduous dentition in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Design: Prospective two-arm randomized controlled clinical trial with three participating cleft palate centers. Setting: Cleft palate centers of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Academic Center of Dentistry Amsterdam, and University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Patients: Children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (n = 54) were included. Interventions: Patients were randomly divided into two groups. Half of the patients (IO+) had a presurgical orthopedic plate until surgical closure of the soft palate at the age of 52 weeks; the other half (IO−) did not undergo presurgical orthopedics. Mean outcome measures: Maxillary arch dimensions were assessed on dental casts at 4 and 6 years of age with measurements for arch width, arch depth, arch length, arch form, and the vertical position of the lesser segment. Contact and collapse were assessed also. Results: There were no clinically significant differences found between IO+ and IO− for any of the variables. Conclusions: Infant orthopedics had no observable effect on the maxillary arch dimensions or on the contact and collapse scores in the deciduous dentition at the ages of 4 and 6 years. Considering the Dutchcleft results to date, there is no need to perform infant orthopedics for unilateral cleft lip and palate patients.