Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tooth agenesis, microdontia, and tooth malformation among non-syndromic oral cleft patients and their potential association with cleft type and gender.MethodsIntraoral records and radiographs of 154 patients (97 males and 57 females) were examined. The variables assessed were tooth agenesis, microdontia, dental malformations, and cleft types. The statistics included chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests as well as logistic regression to assess any mutual effects of gender and cleft type on the dental variables.ResultsTooth agenesis occurred in 50% of the sample and microdontia in 18%. Non-statistically significant odds ratios for the association of gender and cleft type with tooth agenesis were obtained. Tooth agenesis was substantially higher at the unilateral right CL + P and the bilateral CL + P in quadrant 1 and at the unilateral left CL + P and bilateral CL + P in quadrant 2. It was also higher, at the isolated cleft palate (CP) in quadrants 3 and 4. These results were attributed to teeth 22 (31.8%) and 12 (21.6%) in the maxilla and to teeth 35 (6.1%) and 45 (5.4%) in the mandible. In unilateral CL + P patients, the cleft quadrant that presented tooth agenesis was associated with the side of the cleft.ConclusionsInterdisciplinary treatment of the oral cleft patients should take into consideration the high prevalence of tooth agenesis and their association with the different cleft types. The most frequently affected teeth by cleft are by far the upper lateral incisors. Results indicate that tooth agenesis appears to be a genetically controlled anomaly related to the orofacial cleft development through various genetic links and not caused by the cleft disruptive process.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tooth agenesis, microdontia, and tooth malformation among non-syndromic oral cleft patients and their potential association with cleft type and gender
Data from the literature indicate that isolated cleft lip patients (CL) seem to be less affected by dental anomalies outside the cleft area compared to cleft palate (CP) or CL + P patients [7]
In regard to the association of the investigated dental anomalies with the type of cleft, our results showed no differences between the cleft groups coming, in contrast with those of Paranaiba et al, where patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP U) were more frequently affected by dental anomalies than those with bilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP B) [7]
Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tooth agenesis, microdontia, and tooth malformation among non-syndromic oral cleft patients and their potential association with cleft type and gender. The average prevalence of cleft lip with or without cleft palate is 7.75 and 7.94 per 10,000 live births in the USA and worldwide, respectively, [2]. The most frequent dental anomaly among cleft patients is tooth agenesis [3,4,5,6,7]. Dental anomalies appear more commonly in the cleft rather than the non-cleft area [4, 10, 12,13,14]. Data from the literature indicate that isolated cleft lip patients (CL) seem to be less affected by dental anomalies outside the cleft area compared to CP or CL + P patients [7]. The permanent dentition seems to be Konstantonis et al Progress in Orthodontics (2017) 18:20 more affected than the primary dentition in patients with unilateral and bilateral CL + P [13]
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