Asymmetric Tooth Formation in the Permanent Dentition of Cleft-Affected Children: An Orthopantomographic Study

Abstract

An investigation was made of asymmetric tooth formation in 54 children with cleft lip and alveolus and in 153 children with cleft palate, after which the findings were compared with the corresponding results obtained in an investigation of a group of 258 children with complete cleft lip and palate. Asymmetric growth was found in all the permanent teeth, but it was observed to occur most frequently in the upper incisors and the upper and lower premolars. In the cleftpalate group, asymmetry was seen to occur with equal frequency in both jaws, whereas in the cleftlip and alveolus and the cleftlip and palate groups, the condition was met with considerably more often in the upper jaw. The asymmetry varied from one to five developmental stages, though the difference registered mostly amounted to only one developmental stage. Certain other dental anomalies and etiological factors are also discussed in this paper.