An intraoral appliance for management of the protrusive premaxilla in bilateral cleft lip.

Management of the protruding premaxilla and prolabium in bilateral cleft lip and palate can be a confounding problem. This report introduces an intraoral traction appliance that has been successfully used to move the premaxilla and prolabium to a more favorable position for surgical repair of the bilateral cleft lip. The appliance consists of a palatal baseplate for anchorage and a latex rubber traction strip looped over the prolabium to retract the premaxillary segment. The results in five cases are presented and compared to two cases where no presurgical management was performed and lip repair had been delayed for medical reasons. Advantages and disadvantages of the appliance are discussed.