Impact of Multidisciplinary Cleft Team Care on Oral Health Quality of Life in Children With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate: A Focus on Early Intervention vs. Sporadic Treatment

Objective: This is a study evaluating oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) using the Farsi version of Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (F-ECOHIS) in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) who were treated at a multi-disciplinary cleft center, adopted from another surgeon, and the ones did not have clefts and were treated at that dental clinic. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The study was conducted at the Lip and Palate Cleft Clinic (Orthodontic Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences). Patients: The participants were enrolled from the Lip and Palate Cleft Clinic and the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Main Outcome Measures: The OHRQoL of preschool children and their caregivers. Results: The total score of (ECOHIS) in all subscales of both domains of child impact and family impact was statistically lower for the study group than the other groups. Two by two comparisons showed significant differences between the team-managed and non-team groups (p < 0.001). In any domain subscale, there were no gender differences among the three groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The team-managed group obtained better scores in all subscales in comparison to the control and the non-team patient groups; however, since randomization and a controlled surgical method were not possible, the improvements in quality-of-life scores cannot be directly related to the surgical method.