Eruption of Incisor Teeth in Cleft Lip and Palate

Abstract

Longitudinal frontal and lateral cephalometric radiographs were used to study the path of eruption of the permanent central incisors approximating the cleft areas in 15 subjects with unilateral and 7 subjects with bilateral complete clefts of the lip and palate, aged between 3 years 8 months and 9 years. Tracings from the longitudinal transparent templates of the Bolton Standards subjects were used as controls for comparative purposes. The findings indicate that the pattern of eruption of the maxillary central incisor follows the pattern of alveolar development in the cleft subjects. The position of the premaxilla subsequent to cleft repair influences the eruption pattern of the maxillary central incisors approximating the cleft areas. The central incisors erupt down and back, and become more retroclined and retropositioned within the nasomax-illary complex, with increment in age. The crowns of the central incisors approximating the cleft in unilateral cleft lip and palate subjects progressively tipped more towards the cleft with age. Patients with cleft lip and palate generally are characterized by malpositioned in-cisor teeth, abnormal dental arch form, malocclusion and some facial deformity. Eruption, direction of eruption and position of teeth are closely associated with the development of the alveolar process which develops only in conjunction with the presence and eruption of teeth. The maxillary alveolar process which is part of the max-illary bones houses the teeth. Since the alveolar processes and anterior teeth pro-Dr. Ogidan is a former graduate