A report on maxillary orthopedics in cleft palate treatment

Abstract

The maxillofacial anomaly known as cleft lip and palate usually includes dental malocclusion and occasionally gross disturbances in jaw relationships. Although these problems are usually not severe in a young child, they tend to worsen as the child grows older. A great deal of recent clinical evidence points out the need for maxillary orthopedic treatment by the dentist as a member of the cleft-palate team. This early phase of treatment from the dental standpoint gives the plastic surgeon practical reasons for delaying closure of the soft and hard structures involved in facial clefts. Although a section of the vomer bone might have to be removed, maxillary orthopedics may forever remove the need for such radical treatment as resection of the premaxilla. Expansion of the maxillary segments shortly after birth may eliminate previous indecisions or faulty treatment plans. Also, maxillary orthopedics provides good segment alignment prior to the grafting procedures. The use of soft acrylic resin in the deeply undermined clefts gives maximum retention of these restorations prior to the eruption of teeth and makes this treatment plan almost universally acceptable.