A Clinical Survey of the Dental Caries Incidence in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

The purpose of this study was to survey the dental caries incidence in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and to evaluate the effect of the early caries prevention program on 1- to 3-year-old children with CLP. This program consists of the topical application of fluoride and oral hygiene instruction, and was carried out every 3 months.We investigated the dental caries incidence in 309 children with CLP aged 2-8 years who visited Tohoku University Dental Hospital from July of 2006 to June of 2008. Of these, 204 children had joined this program.1.44.0% of the children with CLP had caries experience in their deciduous teeth and 11.7% in permanent teeth. The mean dft and dfs values were 2.0 and 3.9, respectively. And the mean DFT and DFS values were 0.2 and 2.0, respectively. Those values were low as compared with our previous reports, indicating that our early caries prevention program has succeeded in reducing the number of dental caries in CLP children. Those results were also good score compared to non-CLP children.2.The dental caries incidence in children with isolated cleft palate was higher than that in children with another cleft type at an earlier age.3.In the group with cleft lip and palate, the caries incidence of maxillary deciduous lateral incisor on the cleft side was significantly higher than on the non-CLP side.4.We compared the dental caries incidence of children who joined our program (prevention group) with children who have not joined (non-prevention group). The dental caries incidence of deciduous tooth in the prevention group was significantly lower than that in the non-prevention group. Similar results were observed in permanent teeth. Further, it was found that the dental caries incidence in non-prevention group was higher than that in children without CLP. These results indicate that the early caries prevention program is effective in decreasing the dental caries incidence in children with CLP. However, even in the prevention group, the dental caries incidence increased with age. Therefore, the long-term management for caries prevention might be necessary for children with CLP.