Abstract
Objective
To compare periodontal conditions in children with and without cleft.
Design
Clinical examinations and microbiological analysis of 57 selected children, including 30 with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (experimental group) and 27 without clefts (control group).
Setting
Hospital of Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies (HRCA) in Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Patients, Participants
All children examined were healthy and between the ages of 5 and 6 years.
Results
The mean plaque index (PI) in the experimental group was higher (1.82 ± 0.3) than in the control group (1.63 ± 0.38), although this difference was not statistically significant. The mean gingival index (GI) in the experimental group (1.82 ± 0.38) was found to be significantly higher (p < .05) than that of the control group (0.79 ± 0.33). The cleft area in the experimental group, with a mean PI of 2.04 ± 0.58 and mean GI of 1.11 ± 0.26, compared with the posterior area, with a mean PI of 1.74 ± 0.37 and mean GI of 1.04 ± 0.26, showed a statistically significant difference only in the PI. Most of the children in both experimental and control groups presented a moderate PI degree (73.33% and 81.48%, respectively) and a high prevalence of mild gingivitis (53.33% and 70.37%, respectively). Analysis of the organisms showed that
Conclusion
Children with clefts showed greater gingival inflammation, despite the same amount of plaque and prevalence of microorganisms.
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