3D Scanner evaluation of the dental arch width in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Patients with cleft lip and palate present anatomical and functional alterations, compromising esthetics, speech, hearing, development of occlusion, and craniofacial growth. The rehabilitation treatment of patients has been a constant challenge, which should be started at birth. The study of the dental arches with cleft lip and palate provides important information that will contribute to a better understanding of the etiology, prevalence, and treatment, which may be useful in preventive and rehabilitation therapies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is a cross-sectional evaluation of the dental arches width in children with cleft lip and palate from 3 to 9 months before the primary surgery. The sample is composed of 50 patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate and 50 patients without cleft lip and palate. The evaluation will be performed by digital models for each patient, which will be measured by the correlation between the groups. The upper area of the dental arches and the points and lines will be evaluated by means of 3D images. After collection, the data will be analyzed by means of graphs and tables, using the ANOVA test followed by the Tukey test. In the period, 2 evaluators (kappa> 0.8) will carry out the assessments. If necessary, other tests may be applied. A significance level of 5% will be adopted for the differences considered statistically significant.(AU)