ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT FOR CONGENITAL CLEFT LIP AND PALATE IN CHILDREN

Abstract

One in 1,000 newborns appears with a congenital maxillofacial anomaly, which accounts for about 0.04% of the world's entire population of the planet. Patients with cleft lip and palate have a significantly lower quality of life. Early orthodontic treatment (EOT) offered to children from the first days of life is a preparatory link in the preoperative period, laying favorable grounds for surgical intervention. EOT is a reasonable option to separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity, to prevent consequent issues as well as to bring feeding back to the normal. This study involved clinical examinations and early orthodontic treatment of 84 children with congenital bilateral cleft upper lip and palate (CBCULP) from the first days of life and infants based on their referrals coming from all regions of the Republic of Tajikistan embracing the period of 2015 to 2019. Newborns with bilateral CULP within 5 days following birth, and infants who were referred for early orthodontic treatment, had their upper jaw cast model prepared using specially designed and modified spoons for taking impressions in case of cleft lip and palate. Within the study, unrelated marriages prevailed 3.4 times over related ones, which accounted for 22.6% of the cases examined. There were 1.58 times more boys than girls. Close relatives featured congenital maxillofacial abnormalities in 16.1% of the cases. The share of related marriages was 12.9%. Follow-up period — 2016–2017; the patients' age — from the birth period to 1 year. The children were divided into two groups. In the main group, EOT was performed using a dental obturator for orthodontic treatment of children with CBCULP prior to the surgery (n=43). In the comparison group, treatment was carried out in the conventional way (n=41). Before the surgery, all the children were examined through clinical, anthropometric and photometric methods. The statistical processing of the obtained data revealed that before the start of treatment, the studied groups were comparable with no statistically significant differences identified. After the treatment, the age, the weight, as well as the height of the children expectably changed in both groups (p<0.001).