Gingival recession in maxillary canines and central incisors of individuals with clefts.

BACKGROUND

Mucogingival alterations are inherent to clefts and may be worsened by the several plastic surgeries required in these individuals.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, severity, and some possible etiologic factors of gingival recessions in teeth adjacent to the cleft.

STUDY

DESIGN

A total of 641 teeth (maxillary canines and central incisors) of 193 individuals with cleft lip and/or palate were examined. A generalized linear model was used, and the Wilcoxon test was used to compare the recession with cleft types.

RESULTS

Comparison among cleft types as to the presence of recession revealed a statistically significant positive relationship for the maxillary right and left central incisors only in the group with left cleft lip, alveolus, and palate (P = .034). The most frequently affected tooth was the right maxillary canine (26.16%).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of recession in teeth close to the cleft was higher, although it was not very severe.