Reducing iatrogenic complications in the treatment of cleft lip and palate

All patients receiving orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances have a significantly higher risk of developing white spot lesions (WSLs), which are considered the most common iatrogenic complication of treatment.

Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is a common craniofacial anomaly occurring in approximately one in 800 births. Patients affected by cleft lip and/or palate tend to have poorer oral hygiene and a greater risk of WSLs and caries than non-cleft sibling controls. Patients presenting with a cleft lip and/or palate also have a higher prevalence of molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), which suggests that clinicians involved in the oral health management of cleft patients need to consider all available caries prevention protocols.

Cases presenting with hypomineralised teeth create more difficulty in bonding attachments to affected enamel using an acid etch technique and a composite resin material due to the abnormal prism structure. The bond strength to hypomineralised enamel can be as low as two-thirds that of the bond strength to unaffected enamel, which may not be adequate for routine fixed appliance treatment. Furthermore, the removal of orthodontic brackets from hypomineralised enamel may lead to more severe damage to the affected teeth.

Resin modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC), bonded after conditioning the enamel with polyacrylic acid, creates no resin tags as a result of a chemical rather than a mechanical bond. Therefore, there is less enamel loss during bracket debonding when compared with acid-etch preparation and composite resin bonding.

Furthermore, in cases in which the quality of the enamel is deficient causing limits to the shear bond strength of the acid-etched composite resin, the chemical bonding action of RMGIC overcomes the lack of adherence and protects the enamel.

RMGIC has cariostatic properties and clinical evidence supports the routine use of these adhesives for bonding in all fixed appliance cases as a strategy for reducing the incidence of white spot lesions and damage to the enamel during bracket debonding.