Valutazione delle anomalie dentarie in soggetti con differenti tipi di schisi orofacciali

Background and aim: Subjects with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) present high frequency of hypodontia, both inside and outside the cleft region, which may represent a complicating factor for the dental management. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of tooth agenesis in a large sample of cleft subjects and to evaluate the relation with gender, cleft type and sidedness. Materials and methods: Tooth agenesis was identified from serial panoramic radiographs of 293 subjects (123 female, 170 male) with unilateral (66%), bilateral CLP (17%) and isolated cleft palate (17%). Association between tooth agenesis and the different variables was assessed by chi-square test and Poisson regression model (P<0.05). Odds Ratio (OR) was calculated for the different cleft types. Results: A hypodontia prevalence of 50,17% (excluding third molars) was found for the overall cleft group. A considerably higher incidence of missing teeth was found in the maxilla compared with the mandible. The highest rates of agenesis were observed in the anterior region on the cleft sides. Upper lateral incisor and upper and lower second premolars were missing most frequently. Bilateral CLP showed a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of agenesis (P<0,001) and a higher risk of simultaneous agenesis of both maxillary incisors (OR=47). Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of tooth agenesis associated with orofacial clefts. Missing maxillary lateral incisors and second premolars were found more frequently, and occurred mainly in the cleft area.