Perception and Attitude of Parents of Children With Orofacial Clefts Regarding the Use of Presurgical Orthopedics and Feeding Obturators

Soha Alqadi; Ahmad Qazali; Raghad Altamimi; Rahaf Altamimi; Ismail Abdouh; Ahmad Othman; Fatma Abdulhameed

doi:10.7759/cureus.46131

Perception and Attitude of Parents of Children With Orofacial Clefts Regarding the Use of Presurgical Orthopedics and Feeding Obturators

Cureus. 2023 Sep 28;15(9):e46131. doi: 10.7759/cureus.46131. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Soha Alqadi¹, Ahmad Qazali², Raghad Altamimi³, Rahaf Altamimi³, Ismail Abdouh⁴, Ahmad Othman⁵, Fatma Abdulhameed⁶

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.
² Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.
³ General Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.
⁴ Oral Basic and Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.
⁵ Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.
⁶ Pediatric Surgery, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Medical City, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, SAU.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the parents' attitude and their perception regarding the management of orofacial cleft (OFC) children with presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM), DynaCleft and/or feeding obturators.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and observational retrospective survey-based study was conducted among parents of OFC children treated with PNAM, DynaCleft and/or feeding obturators who attended a primary dental health care center in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, from 2019 to 2023. A validated questionnaire was used after translating it from English to Arabic. The questionnaire consisted of 32 questions divided into two sections. The first section covers parents' sociodemographic data and OFC risk factors. The second section evaluates the parents' perception regarding the use of presurgical orthopedics (PSO) for OFC repair. The questionnaire was completed through telephone interviews carried out by two investigators with the parents of OFC children.

Results: Out of 142 parents of OFC children, only 40 parents and their children met the inclusion criteria of the study. Most parents (95%) reported their satisfaction with the treatment and stated that they would encourage other parents of OFC children to use PSO.

Conclusion: This study concluded that parents of OFC children had a positive attitude toward PSO treatment. Based on the positive outcomes of PSO treatment reported in the current study and previous literature, PSO should be considered as a routine treatment in the early management of orofacial clefts.

Keywords: cleft lip; cleft lip & palate; cleft palate; feeding obturators; orofacial clefts; presurgical nasoalveolar molding; presurgical orthopedics.