The effect of various factors on the dental arch relationship in non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate children assessed by new approach: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the most common birth defects. Multiple factors are believed to be responsible for an unfavorable dental arch relationship in CLP. Facial growth (maxillary) retardation, which results in class III malocclusion, is the primary challenge that CLP patients face. Phenotype factors and postnatal treatment factors influence treatment outcomes in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) children, which has led to a great diversity in protocols and surgical techniques by various cleft groups worldwide. The aim of this study was to illustrate the dental arch relationship (DAR) and palatal morphology (PM) of UCLP in Bangladeshi children and to explore the various factors that are responsible for poor DAR and PM. METHODS: Dental models of 84 subjects were taken before orthodontic treatment and alveolar bone grafting. The mean age was 7.69 (SD 2.46) years. The DAR and PM were assessed blindly by five raters using the EUROCRAN index (EI). Kappa statistics was used to evaluate the intra- and inter-examiner agreement, chi square was used to assess the associations, and logistic regression analysis was used to explore the responsible factors that affect DAR and PM. RESULTS: The mean EUROCRAN scores were 2.44 and 1.93 for DAR and PM, respectively. Intra- and inter-examiner agreement was moderate to very good. Using crude and stepwise backward regression analyses, significant associations were found between the modified Millard technique (P = 0.047, P = 0.034 respectively) of cheiloplasty and unfavorable DAR. Complete UCLP (P = 0.017) was also significantly correlated with unfavorable DAR. The PM showed a significant association with the type of cleft, type of cheiloplasty and type of palatoplasty. CONCLUSION: This multivariate study determined that the complete type of UCLP and the modified Millard technique of cheiloplasty had significantly unfavorable effects on both the DAR and PM.

Rating dental arch relationships and palatal morphology with the EUROCRAN index on three different formats of dental casts in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate.

BACKGROUND: The EUROCRAN index has been used in inter-center studies to assess dental arch relationship (DAR) and palatal morphology (PM) in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). For this type of inter-center research, a scoring method that could be performed over the internet would be the most effective. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of application of the EUROCRAN index on 3D digital models or photographs of plaster models instead of using plaster models. METHODS: The EUROCRAN reference models were presented in three formats: plaster models, 2D photographs of plaster models, and 3D digital models. Plaster models of children with UCLP (n = 45) were rated. Of each case, all three formats were rated by six calibrated observers in random order. The strength of agreement of the ratings was assessed with kappa statistics. Concordance among observers was evaluated with the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The ICC showed a good inter-observer agreement for the DAR and poor inter-observer agreement for the PM. Intra-observer agreement for the DAR was moderate to very good, yet for the PM poor to moderate. Comparison between the three formats per observer for the DAR was good or very good and for the PM moderate to poor. CONCLUSIONS: The overall results show that the EUROCRAN index is an acceptable and reliable scoring method for the DAR on plaster models, 2D photographs of plaster models, and 3D digital models. However, due to the small range of deviations in palatal morphology between the cases in our study, the PM component of the index was difficult to assess. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In clinical audits and inter-center studies, plaster models can be substituted by 2D photographs of plaster casts or 3D digital models when grading treatment outcome with the EUROCRAN index.