Abstract
Patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) have several oral alterations that make the removal of bacterial plaque in the cleft area difficult, which is the main cause of the high incidence of oral health problems. The aim of this study is to develop a toothbrush especially designed to perform the hygiene of the cleft area. This device, called Cleft Toothbrush, is an add-on to a conventional toothbrush to clean hard-to-reach areas that are not accessible by using conventional brush shapes. The design was made in SOLIDWORKS® (Waltham, MA, USA) 3D and a sample of this device was produced by CURAPROX (Kriens, Switzerland). The efficacy of the Cleft Toothbrush was tested in a preliminary study performed in a four years old child with CLP, compared to that of a conventional toothbrush. A significantly higher reduction of the bacterial plaque was achieved with the Cleft Toothbrush. The child’s parents also felt more confident with this device, as it deals better with sensitive areas, as it did not hurt the child. This innovative toothbrush adapter appears to greatly improve the cleaning areas of high bacterial plaque retention in patients with CLP, together with excellent acceptance.
Highlights
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) are the most common congenital malformations of the face that may appear isolated, or in association with other syndromes
We found only one study that refers that the use of a baby-sized toothbrush and an interspace brush would improve the cleft hygiene in some situations [11]
In the design of the brush, it was decided not to develop a complete brush from scratch, but instead to build an adapter that could be used in conjunction with CURAPROX brushes
Summary
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) are the most common congenital malformations of the face that may appear isolated, or in association with other syndromes. They result from the failure of the fusion of the many embrionic processes, between the 4th and 12th weeks of intrauterine life. The anatomic-functional alteration of one, or many, structures (lip, alveolar process, hard and soft palate) is observed. The morphology of the space of the cleft in the oral cavity, variable, presents common elements. It is frequently originated by the collapse of the lateral segments of the maxilla towards the
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