Summary Review/Orthodontics
Evidence-Based Dentistry (2007) 8, 106. doi:10.1038/sj.ebd.6400525
More caries in primary teeth of children who have cleft lip and palate
Do children who have cleft lip and palate have elevated caries levels in the primary and permanent dentition?
Address for correspondence: Svante Twetman, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 20 Nørre Allé, DK-Copenhagen N, Denmark. E-mail: stw@odont.ku.dk
Julian O'Neill1
1Orthodontic Department, Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust, Kettering, Northamptonshire, UK
Hasslof P, Twetman S. Caries prevalence in children with cleft lip and palate — a systematic review of case–control studies. Int J Paediatr Dent 2007; 17:313–319
Abstract
Data sources
Medline (PubMed) was used to identify published data for the review.
Study selection
Case–control studies were included if they used controls matched for age and sex, with non-cavitated and manifest caries lesions as outcomes, and were published in English, German, Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.
Data extraction and synthesis
The studies were assessed independently by two reviewers and scored A–C according to predetermined criteria for methodology and performance.
Results
Significantly more caries was reported in children who had cleft lip and palate (CLP) in two out of the four studies in the permanent dentition and in three out of four publications dealing with primary teeth. None of the articles was scored as 'A', however, and the level of evidence was therefore based on three papers graded 'B'. There was a tendency towards higher caries scores in preschool children but, as there were conflicting results, the evidence that children with CLP exhibit more caries than noncleft controls was inconclusive.
Conclusions
There was a clear tendency towards more caries in primary teeth in children who have CLP. No firm conclusion could be made because the quality of the eligible studies was low to moderate and there are also conflicting results. Better quality research is needed within this area.
