RESUMO
PURPOSE: Alveolar bone grafting is undertaken to provide stability to the dental arch and facilitate the eruption of permanent canine as teeth in the line of cleft usually have an altered pattern of eruption. The purpose of this study was to assess the eruption status and the change in the position and pattern of canine eruption after secondary alveolar bone grafting. METHODS: An ambispective cohort study was conducted in patients operated for alveolar bone grafting with unilateral/bilateral alveolar cleft between the age of 9 to 13 years using autogenous iliac crest bone graft. The predictor variables of interest include the preoperative eruption status of canine (completely erupted/partially erupted/unerupted), stage of root development (one-third/two-third/more than two-third/complete) and position (vertical/lateral/buccopalatal) of the canine. The primary outcome variable is the eruption status of the canine (completely erupted/partially erupted/unerupted) at 6 months postoperatively. Secondary outcome variables include the stage of root development, change in the vertical, lateral and buccopalatal position of the canine observed in the first 6 months postoperatively with follow-up at 1 and 3 months. Another secondary outcome variable was the status of bone graft at 6 months postoperatively. Statistical analysis was done using Spearman's rank correlation and ANOVA chi-square test. RESULT: The study sample consisted of 30 non-syndromic alveolar cleft patients with a mean age of 11.9 years, out of which partial and complete eruption of canine was seen in 43.33 and 36.67%, respectively. The canine was unerupted in 20% of the cases (P = .001). There was evidence of continued root development through the grafted bone. No significant change in the angulation of canine was observed in the postoperative period. CONCLUSION: Significant change in the eruption status and root development of canine with no statistically significant change in the vertical and lateral angulation during eruption was observed. Identifying these risk factors by continuous postoperative monitoring will help in identifying the malposition at an early stage.