Cervical root resorption in two patients with unilateral complete cleft of the lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE: Case reports on cervical root resorption in patients with complete cleft of the lip and palate are scarce. Moreover, cervical root resorption is sometimes diagnosed several years after a combined orthodontic and surgical therapy in patients with cleft. In this article a review of the literature is presented, and a description and the management of the cervical lesion is provided. An additional objective of this report is to advocate for alveolar bone grafting before the age of 12 years while the vulnerable cervical region of the teeth adjacent to the cleft defect is still protected by a thick layer of bone.