Dental anomalies in children with cleft lip and palate in Western Australia

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper was to describe the prevalence and type of dental anomalies in the primary and permanent dentition in children with a cleft condition at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The details of 162 current dental patients extracted from the main dental database through their year of birth for the period 1998–2001 were selected consecutively. Dental records and X-rays were examined by one examiner (WN) and verified by a second examiner (RB) to determine dental development. The mean age of the subjects was 10.8 years with equal numbers of males and females. Subjects were further divided into cleft type; unilateral cleft lip (UCL) and palate, bilateral cleft lip (BCL) and palate, UCL, BCL, and cleft palate. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-two subjects were grouped into 21 categories of anomaly or abnormality. Prevalence rates for the categories were calculated for the overall group and for gender and cleft type. CONCLUSION: Overall, 94% of patients were found to have at least one dental anomaly, with fifty-six (34%) patients having more than one anomaly or abnormality.