Giovanna Garattini

Prevalence of abnormalities in dental structure, position, and eruption pattern in a population of unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate patients.

Objective: To evaluate the dental characteristics of patients subjected to a protocol that included early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty (ESGAP). Design: Panoramic radiographs of 87 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and 29 with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) were evaluated. Missing and supernumerary teeth were also quantified on the cleft and noncleft side and in the maxilla and mandible. Crown and root malformations and tooth rotations were quantified. A subsample in permanent dentition was extrapolated to analyze canine eruption patterns. Results: A total of 48.8% of the UCLP patients presented with missing permanent lateral incisors in the cleft area and 6.1% contralaterally. A total of 4.9% presented with missing second maxillary premolars on the cleft site and 1.2% contralaterally. A total of 7.3% presented with supernumerary lateral incisors, and 45% of the BCLP cleft sites presented with missing lateral incisors, while 25% of the cleft sites presented second maxillary premolars agenesis. Five percent of the cleft sites presented with supernumerary lateral incisors. Evaluation of the subsample in permanent dentition showed that 15.5% had a canine retention and 4.4% of the canines had to be surgically exposed. A significant association was observed between canine inclination and retention but not with absence of the lateral incisor. Conclusions: The frequency of dental anomalies in this sample was similar to other cleft populations. As surgical trauma has been suggested to damage forming teeth, the results of this study indicated that ESGAP has no detrimental influence on subsequent dental development.

Oral environment temperature changes induced by cold/hot liquid intake.

The use of NiTi shape memory alloys, introduced into orthodontics because of their ability to develop light continuous forces that prove more effective than heavy intermittent forces in the teeth movement, requires the mastering of the functional properties of NiTi wires. More specifically, the recovery force acting on the teeth is a sensitive function of temperature: knowledge of oral temperature modifications is therefore required to understand the stress state modification felt during orthodontic therapy. The temperature modifications induced by cold or hot drink intake in the oral cavity were investigated by using arch wires, fixed to removable Hawley retainers, similar to those currently used in orthodontic practice, by means of six temperature sensors placed in correspondence with specific teeth. Similarly, the temperature changes were detected on a metallic frame, fixed onto the palatal zone to a Hawley retainer, where a palatal expander was placed to correct unilateral or bilateral crossbites in deciduous or in early mixed dentition. The maximum temperature change was observed in the interincisor area: The temperature modification on other teeth depends on the modality of drink intake, with the highest temperature variations being detected in the palatal zone. Hence modifications in the stress state during orthodontic therapy with NiTi wires are to be expected.

Cystathionine beta‐synthase c.844ins68 gene variant and non‐syndromic cleft lip and palate

Non‐syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common birth defect with substantial clinical and social impact and whose causes include both genetic and environmental factors. Folate and homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism have been indicated to play a role in the etiology of CL/P, and polymorphisms in folate and Hcy genes may act as susceptibility factors. We investigated a common polymorphism in the cystathionine beta‐synthase (CBS) gene (c.844ins68) in 134 Italian CL/P cases and their parents using the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT). Although no overall linkage disequilibrium was observed, considering the parent‐of‐origin transmission of the CBS 68 bp insertion a significant (P = 0.002) transmission distortion was detected. When children receive the c.844ins68 allele from the mother compared to the father, they show a 18.7‐fold increase in risk for CL/P. This evidence suggests CBS as a candidate gene for CL/P and supports a role of maternal‐embryo interactions in the etiology of CL/P.

A multicenter outcomes assessment of five-year-old patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate

OBJECTIVE Compare 5-year-old dental arch relationships of patients from three centers with differing primary protocols. DESIGN Retrospective study of treatment outcomes using blinded evaluation of dental study casts. SETTING Three major cleft-craniofacial centers; one (center A) is a free-standing institution, and two (centers B and C) are university hospitals. PATIENTS 118 (A = 41; B = 33; C = 44) consecutively treated 5-year-old patients with complete, nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate. INTERVENTIONS Centers A and C completed primary repair without presurgical orthopedics by 18 months (center A in three surgeries and center C in two surgeries). Center B used passive presurgical orthopedics with lip/soft palate repair at 6 months and gingivo-alveoloplasty/hard palate repair at 18 to 36 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Averaged ratings of dental casts using the 5-year yardstick were computed for each patient. The Wilcoxon two-sample test was used to compare means; a chi-square test was used to compare distributions. RESULTS Intra- and interexaminer reliability tests showed excellent reliability (>.90). Mean scores were not significantly different. Distribution of scores differed significantly. Center A had the highest percentage of good scores and the lowest percentage of poor scores (72% versus 6.5%), followed by center B (63% versus 6.6%) and center C (59% versus 16.3%). CONCLUSIONS Centers A and B had comparable scores and completely different protocols in surgical technique, timing, sequencing, and nonuse/use of appliances. Center Cs results were slightly lower than those of 1 and 3, but the center had the protocol with the least burden of treatment (only two surgeries, without use of appliances).

Alveolar bone formation in patients with unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate after early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty: long-term results.

Background: The Milan surgical protocol includes the use of an early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty together with hard palate closure at 18 to 36 months, to avoid later bone grafting. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term quality of ossification in patients who have undergone early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty. Methods: The samples consisted of panoramic radiographs of 87 unilateral cleft lip–cleft palate and 29 bilateral cleft lip–cleft palate patients. The records available allowed for a longitudinal and a cross-sectional evaluation of the ossification in the cleft area. Alveolar bridging was assessed using a modified Bergland’s scoring system. Nasal area ossification and canine inclination were each given three different qualitative scores. Results: The alveolar bridging noted was type I (71.7 percent), type II (23.5 percent), and type III (4.8 percent) in the whole sample of unilateral and bilateral cleft lip–cleft palate patients. No type IV ossification was found. Longitudinal analysis showed that approximately one-fourth of the cleft sites improved after permanent tooth eruption, and very few worsened. An evaluation of permanent dentition in a group of 27 unilateral and nine bilateral cleft lip–cleft palate patients (mean age, 14.8 ± 2.0 years) showed that 15.5 percent of the whole sample had canine retention and 4.4 percent of the whole sample had to be surgically exposed. Conclusions: Early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty seems to allow for adequate ossification in both the alveolar and the nasal regions. Permanent tooth eruption occurs at a normal rate. None of the patients has required a secondary alveolar bone graft.

A cephalometric intercenter comparison of patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate: analysis at 5 and 10 years of age and long term.

Objective: To compare the short- and long-term craniofacial growth of patients operated with the Milan protocol to those operated with the Oslo protocol. Design: The Milan sample included 88 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) at 5 years, 26 at 10 years, and 23 at the end of growth. The Oslo samples included 48 UCLP patients at 5 years, 29 at 10, and 23 at growth completion. Lateral cephalograms were used for comparison. An unpaired t test was run for the 5- and 10-year-old samples. The samples long term were matched for age and sex, and a paired t test was run. Results: There was no significant cephalometric difference in the maxillary prominence at 5 years, a mild but significant difference at 10 years, and again no difference at the end of growth. Nevertheless, at an older age, the need for orthognathic surgery was larger in the Milan sample (26%) than in the Oslo sample (13%). Conclusion: Although no statistically significant differences in the cephalometric measurements were found long term, the need for orthognathic surgery was clinically judged to be larger in the Milan sample. On the other hand, although the Milan protocol seemed to require more final jaw surgery, only the cases that needed an additional orthognathic procedure in the Milan group will undertake a third surgical step, while the Oslo protocol included three surgical steps for all the patients.

Early Secondary Gingivo-Alveolo-Plasty in the treatment of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients: 20 years experience

Since 1988, the Milano surgical protocol has included lip, nose and soft palate repair at 6-9 months of age and closure of the hard palate at 18-36 months together with an Early Secondary Gingivo-Alveolo-Plasty (ESGAP). Prior to 1988 the alveolar cleft was repaired in a third step by bone grafting at 9-11 years of age. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term maxillary growth in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients who have undergone ESGAP. Alveolar ossification after ESGAP was also studied in the permanent dentition. Growth assessment was carried out comparing lateral X-ray cephalograms of a UCLP ESGAP sample (15 consecutive patients with a mean age of 18.2 +/-1.2 years) and of the UCLP bone graft sample (10 consecutive patients with a mean age of 18.7 +/-1.1 years) and a sample from the Oslo cleft lip and palate (CLP) centre sample (15 patients with a mean age of 18.1 +/-0.8 years). Alveolar ossification in the sample which had undergone ESGAP was evaluated through a sample of panoramic X-rays of UCLP in the permanent dentition. Alveolar bridging was assessed using a modified Berglands scoring system. From the results it seems that ESGAP allows for an excellent alveolar ossification, but patients show an inhibition of maxillary growth compared with the secondary bone graft group and with the Oslo group. Although ESGAP allows for early repair of the alveolus together with palate repair, thus eliminating in all patients the need for secondary bone grafting, it seems to have an inhibiting influence on maxillary growth which increases the need for Le Fort I osteotomies. It is however fair to recall, that, even with an adjunctive Le Fort I osteotomy, ESGAP enables the total number of operations to be reduced to three, instead of most European protocols (4-5 procedures).

Comparison of growth results in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate after early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty and secondary bone grafting: 20 years follow up

The Milan surgical protocol from 1988 has included repair of lip, nose, and soft palate at 6–9 months of age, and closure of the hard palate and alveolus with an early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty at 18–36 months. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term maxillary growth in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) who had had the early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty, compared with the growth in a sample treated before 1988, by the same surgeon, with a surgical protocol that differed only by the method and the timing of alveolar closure. In the second group they were repaired by secondary bone grafting. The samples consisted of lateral cephalograms of the UCLP early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty sample (15 patients with a mean age of 18 (1.2) years) and of the UCLP bone graft sample (10 patients with a mean age of 19 (1.1) years). The early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty patients showed that maxillary growth was inhibited compared with the secondary bone graft group. Although the early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty allowed for early repair of the alveolus together with palatal repair, eliminating the need for secondary bone grafting, it seemed to have an inhibiting influence on maxillary growth that increased the need for Le Fort I osteotomies. Even with a Le Fort I osteotomy, the early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty allows the total number of operations to be kept down to three, as in most European protocols.

Photometric evaluation of bilateral cleft lip and palate patients after primary columella lengthening.

Objective To evaluate the results in terms of nasal esthetics of children with bilateral cleft lip and palate, operated with the Cutting primary columella lengthening technique, associated with Grayson orthopedic nasoalveolar molding, and to compare them with the nasal aspects of children with bilateral cleft lip and palate operated with a traditional approach and to an age-matched sample of normal Caucasian children. Design Normalized photogrammetry. Setting Regional Center for CLP, Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery, San Paolo Hospital, Milan. Patients Three groups of patients 5 years of age. Cutting group: 18 patients treated with the Grayson-Cutting technique. Delaire group: 18 patients treated with the traditional Delaire technique. Normal children: 40 normal preschool children. Results With the Cutting-Grayson technique, the columella length, nasal tip angle, and protrusion are greatly improved compared with the previous protocol and are close to normal. On the other hand, the nasolabial angle and interalar distances are still excessively wide in both samples. Conclusions Although this is not a long-term study, at this time none of the patients operated with this technique have needed secondary columella lengthening. On the other hand, although certainly improved, the nasal anatomy obtained is far from normal.

Factors that affect variability in impairment of maxillary growth in patients with cleft lip and palate treated using the same surgical protocol

Abstract No consensus exists about the causes of restriction of maxillary growth in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP). The aim of this study was to try to identify causes of this impairment other than the influence of surgical technique and skill. We analysed a sample of 129 consecutively treated 5-year-old children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), who were operated on by the same surgeon with the same protocol. Multiple cephalometric measurements of the sample showed a wide distribution of values for maxillary growth. We selected SNA as a value describing maxillary position. Variables investigated were: initial cast measurements; timing of lip and of gingivoalveoloplasty (GAP)/palatal surgery; and presence of permanent lateral incisors. The significance of differences was investigated with Pearsons correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The factor most significantly linked with maxillary protrusion was the presence or absence of the permanent lateral incisor, even when peg laterals and supernumerary laterals were considered. Initial width of the palate measured on infant casts correlated with maxillary growth, but the timing of GAP did not. Although surgical skill and technique may be the most important factors responsible for impairment of maxillary growth, inherent tissue hypoplasia, possibly the lack of lateral incisors, seems to be the most important non-iatrogenic factor.