Evaluation of alveolar bone support of the permanent canine in cleft and noncleft patients

Objective: To quantitatively compare the alveolar bone support ratio of the permanent canine in cleft patients who received secondary alveolar bone graft with that of the population without clefts. Design: Retrospective study utilizing periapical radiographs of the subjects with and without clefts. Setting: Hospital and university based. Patients: Eighteen unilateral and 9 bilateral cleft patients who had secondary bone graft procedures. Main Outcome Measures: Alveolar bone support of the permanent canine utilizing the ratio of bone height to root length. Results: Average bone support for the permanent canine was 88.55% in patients with clefts and 95.59% in patients with no history of clefts. This difference was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in alveolar bone support ratio between the unilateral and bilateral cleft patients. Conclusions: Although alveolar bone support was significantly higher in the noncleft control group, a successful level of alveolar bone support was achieved for the permanent canine on the cleft site after secondary bone graft. There was no difference in alveolar bone support achieved for the permanent canine whether the type of the cleft was unilateral or bilateral.