New orthodontic and orthopaedic managements on the premaxillary deformities in patients with bilateral cleft before alveolar bone grafting

At the age of mixed dentition, a downward or laterally displaced premaxilla with a wide alveolar cleft in patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate remains a dilemma both for orthodontists and surgeons. These premaxillary deformities not only make the alveolar bone grafting difficult but also aesthetically and functionally unacceptable. The purpose of the present article is to introduce three new orthodontic and orthopaedic techniques for solving these premaxillary deformities and facilitating alveolar bone graft through a non-surgical approach. These techniques are the premaxillary orthopaedic intrusion for correcting a downward displaced premaxilla, the premaxillary orthopaedic repositioning for correcting a laterally displaced premaxilla, and maxillary orthopaedic protraction by alternate rapid maxillary expansions and constrictions for minimizing a wide alveolar cleft. They were evaluated clinically and cephalometrically for their treatment effects. The results revealed that the premaxillary and cleft deformities were corrected in a short period of time and therefore the alveolar bone grafting could be carried out without difficulty in all of the patients who received the treatment. The treatment effects were mostly orthopaedic and partly orthodontic. No growth disturbance on the maxilla was observed throughout the treatment. These new orthodontic and orthopaedic techniques are very effective for solving the difficult-to-treat premaxillary deformities and facilitating the alveolar bone grafting in the patients with bilateral cleft.