Impact of Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding on the Parental Perceptions of Oral Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children with cleft lip and palate who were treated with presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) and to compare the results to age- and gender-matched controls without cleft lip and palate. Parents of 51 children with cleft lip and palate who were treated with PNAM were administered a validated Arabic version of the short-form child oral health impact profile (COHIP-SF) and were asked to rate their experience with PNAM. The children with treated cleft lip and palate (study group) were age- and gender-matched to children with no cleft lip and palate (control group). The differences in COHIP-SF domains were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. The children in the test group had significantly higher COHIP-SF scores than in the test group (p < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the oral health (p = 0.532) or the oral function (0.232) domains. There were, however, significant differences in the socioemotional domain (p < 0.001). Most of the parents (86%) of children with cleft lip or palate felt that they would recommend PNAM to other parents. While there are no differences in the oral health and functional domains of OHRQoL, children with cleft lip and palate treated with PNAM have significantly lower scores in the socioemotional domain of OHRQoL when compared to age- and gender-matched controls. Presurgical nasoalveolar molding does not have any negative impact on the OHRQoL of children with cleft lip and palate.