Primary dentition status and treatment needs of children with cleft lip and/or palate.

The aim of this study was to assess the primary dentition status and treatment needs in children with cleft lip, cleft palate and or both. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was done through oral examination on a sample of 83, 2-5 years old cleft lip/palate children (46 boys and 37 girls). A self-designed questionnaire to obtain pertinent data related to level of education of parents and infant-feeding practices was used for recording the data while examining the children. Majority of cleft affected children had dental caries experience and required different types of treatment. The result of this study shows that: (1) all age groups of cleft affected children had dental caries experience, (2) children with primary type of cleft had less dental caries prevalence than children with cleft of secondary or combination type ( P < 0.05), (3) treatment needs due to caries were more in combination type of cleft compared to primary and secondary.