Clinical and Microbiological Evaluation of the Periodontal Status of Children with Unilateral Complete Cleft Lip and Palate

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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 Prevotella nigrescens was detected in 16.67% of the experimental group and 11.11% of the control, whereas Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola were not detected. Conclusion: Children with clefts showed greater gingival inflammation, despite the same amount of plaque and prevalence of microorganisms.