Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dental calcification stage (DCS) of the mandibular teeth and the cervical vertebral maturation stage (CVMS) in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP).
Methods: One hundred sixty-two UCLP patients (100 males and 62 females) between 8-16 years old were included in this study. The DCS was estimated by the Demirjian method and was converted to the dental age (DA). The CVMS was evaluated by the Baccetti method. The DA of mandibular teeth on two sides of the cleft were analyzed using a t-test. Spearman correlation was used to study the association between CVMS and DCS. The correlation coefficient between the two sides of the cleft was then compared.
Results: The total DA was significantly smaller on the cleft side than on the noncleft side in males (p = 0.022). The Spearman rank correlation coefficient revealed a significant correlation between the DCS of each examined tooth and the CVMS (r = 0.627-0.793 in males and r = 0.806-0.899 in females). Additionally, the correlation of the two sides was not significantly different (p > 0.05). The DCS of the first premolar showed the strongest correlation with the CVMS.
Conclusion: The results confirm the utility of the DCS on both sides of the mandible in male UCLP patients as a simple first-level diagnostic test to evaluate growth and development. The findings also indicate that both the DCS and the CVMS should be assessed if the maturity stage of a growing UCLP patient is relevant to clinical practice.
Keywords: Baccetti method; Cervical vertebral maturation stages; Demirjian method; Dental calcification stages; Mandibular teeth; Unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.