Caries Experience of Chinese Children with Cleft Lip and Palate. (July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: King, Nigel M.; Wong, Wai Lan; Wong, Hai Ming
• Is Part Of: Cleft palate-craniofacial journal. Volume 50:Number 4(2013)
• Page Start: 448
• Page End: 455
• Publication Date: 2013-07
• Subjects: caries -- children -- cleft lip and palate; Cleft palate -- Periodicals; Skull -- Abnormalities -- Periodicals; Cranial manipulation -- Periodicals; Skull -- Abnormalities -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Face -- Abnormalities -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Fente palatine -- Périodiques; Crâne -- Malformations -- Périodiques; Manipulation crânienne -- Périodiques; Crâne -- Malformations -- Chirurgie -- Périodiques; Face -- Malformations -- Chirurgie -- Périodiques; Cleft palate; Cranial manipulation; Face -- Abnormalities -- Surgery; Skull -- Abnormalities; Skull -- Abnormalities -- Surgery; Cleft Lip; Cleft Palate; Facial Bones -- abnormalities; Skull -- abnormalities; Periodicals; Periodicals; Periodicals; 617.522
• DOI: 10.1597/11-133
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1055-6656

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the caries experience in the primary teeth of children with and without cleft lip and palate (CLP). Design: Observational study. Setting: Dental hospital clinic. Patients: The sample consisted of 132 pairs of Chinese children with and without CLP matched by gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Their ages were between 2 and 7 years. Methods: The children were dichotomized into 2- to 4-year-old (n = 71) and 5- to 7-year-old groups (n = 61). The oral examination was performed by one trained and calibrated dentist, and the caries experience was determined using the dmft (decay missing filled teeth) index. Results: For the 2- to 4-year-old group, the dmft values were 1.5 for the cleft group and 1.6 for the non-CLP group, but the difference was not statistically significant. For the 5- to 7-year-old group, the dmft indices were 5.2 for the cleft group compared with 2.9 for the control group; this difference was statistically significant ( p = .0006). The caries rate for the various tooth types in the 5- to 7-year-old group was higher in the CLP group than in the non-CLP group; the most marked difference was for the lateral incisors, mandibular molars, and maxillary left first molars ( p = .0001). Conclusions: The 5- to 7-year-old children with CLP had a higher caries experience in the primary dentition than the children without CLP.