Pre-surgical nasoalveolar molding technique: a literature review.

Cleft lip and palate patients have many defects particularly nasal deformities. The nasoalveolar molding (NAM) technique is an adjunctive treatment, which not only corrects deviated alveolar segments but also addresses nasal deformity before cheiloplasty. NAM technique is claimed to facilitate primary surgical correction and to provide favorable esthetic outcomes. However, there is limited evidence to confirm the special benefits ofNAM technique since so far there have been no truly long term controlled clinical trials to evaluate outcomes of treatment based on pre-surgical NAM technique. NAM technique can aid surgeons in their primary repairs ofnasal deformities but there should be concern about cost-risk benefits and ability ofparents to manage home care. Further studies based on properly designed and managed long-term clinical trials are still neededfor reaching consensus on special benefits ofNAM technique compared with other treatment protocols.