Effect of the Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding Using Computer-Aided Design Technique

OBJECTIVE:To develop a new method of presurgical nasoalveolar molding based on computer-aided design technique.METHODS:Twenty patients(16 boys, 4 girls) with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate(UCLP) who received presurgical nasoalveolar molding were recruited as the treatment group. Twenty patients(15 boys, 5 girls) with complete UCLP who did not receive presurgical orthopedic treatment were selected as the control group. All parameters of the digital maxillary model were measured using the Rapidform XOR3 software. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 15.0.RESULTS:A'-X and B-Il were reduced significantly after presurgical nasoalveolar molding. However, the mean alveolar height [F- hight (3.7 ± 1.1) mm, F'-height (4.6 ± 0.9) mm] decreased significantly after treatment(P <0.05). There were significant differences between the treatment group and the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS:Maxillary alveolar morphology could be improved in UCLP infants treated with computer-aided presurgical nasoalveolar molding. The width of the cleft could be reduced and the maxillary midline corrected effectively. However, the alveolar height decreased significantly after the treatment.