Comparative clinical evaluation of modified and conventional Grayson’s presurgical nasoalveolar molding technique in infants with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

BACKGROUND: Presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) was introduced by Grayson et al., in 1993 to presurgically mold the alveolus, lip, and nose in infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP). The aim of this comparative clinical trial was to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of Modified and Conventional Grayson’s PNAM in patients concerning morphological and anatomical changes in maxillary alveolus, nasal symmetry, number of visits, and duration of treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative clinical trial study, 16 infants with unilateral complete CLP were equally divided into two groups: Group I (modified PNAM technique using titanium molybdenum alloy [TMA] wire nasal stent) and Group II (conventional PNAM technique using stainless steel wire nasal stent). Patient photographic evaluation of nasal symmetry and maxillary study model CAD-CAM analysis, pre- and post-operatively in both groups, were compared using a paired t-test between the groups using the Chi-square test with P < 0.05 as statistically significant. RESULTS: In both groups, on evaluating nasal measurements, statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in nasal width and increase in columella deviation angle, a decrease of nostril length, and an increase of columella length in Group I were observed. On maxillary study model evaluation, a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in width of the alveolar cleft was noticed in both groups and lateral deviation of the incisal point in Group I and width of the palatal cleft in Group II was noticed. CONCLUSION: This study showed a morphological improvement in nasal symmetry and maxillary alveolar morphology in complete unilateral CLP patients, treated with both Modified and Conventional PNAM techniques, with the Modified PNAM technique being more efficient for treatment duration and the number of adjustments as there are less number of visits.