Knowledge and Attitude Among Various Dental Specialities Regarding Nasoalveolar Molding Procedure in Cleft Patients—A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Nasoalveolar molding (NAM) is a presurgical orthopedic procedure, mainly focusing upon the aesthetic outcome of the treatment goal by reducing the number of reconstructive surgeries performed later for the purpose of esthetics. It was reported a very small proportion of pediatric dentists are providing presurgical intervention and the practice of NAM still side stepping among various dental practitioners. Objectives: The study was aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude among various dental specialties regarding NAM procedure in cleft patients. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 180 dental professionals (pedodontists, orthodontists, prosthodontists, oral surgeons). A total of 180 questionnaires were prepared, out of which 98 were filled through direct personal interview and 82 were circulated via Google forms. Results were analyzed using chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: There was statistically significant difference in the cumulative knowledge scores between specialty with P < .001; 99% of the participants think one should opt for NAM before cleft lip and palate surgery and 39% participants prefer pedodontists to carry out NAM procedure. Conclusion: Dental specialists in India have a positive attitude toward presurgical orthopedics. Majority of them agreed that there is great improvement in the aesthetic outcomes of surgeries after NAM intervention.

Presurgical management trends and nasoalveolar molding usage for infants with cleft lip and palate in the capital of a developing country

“…Interestingly, 99% of them suggested providing NAM to infants with CLP because of the positive effect on surgical aesthetic outcomes. [ 43 ] This is similar to our finding, although we aimed to include only surgeons in our study as they have the privilege of assessing the surgical outcome more precisely.…”

Comparative Study of Maxillary Growth in Patients With Unilateral Cleft Treated With and Without Pre-Surgical Orthopedics

“…[16][17][18] Many reports have demonstrated the immediate effects of PSIO on cleft patients, before cheiloplasty helps to narrow the alveolar clefts and, accordingly, facilitates the task of surgeons in performing primary cleft lip closure. 3,[19][20][21][22] The comparison between measurements obtained when using several treatments (or lack thereof) and the measurements obtained for spontaneous growth will provide a very useful reference to guide the clinician when having to choose between different kinds of treatment for each patient in particular.…”

“…16–18 Many reports have demonstrated the immediate effects of PSIO on cleft patients, before cheiloplasty helps to narrow the alveolar clefts and, accordingly, facilitates the task of surgeons in performing primary cleft lip closure. 3,19–22…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception among Dental Graduate Practitioners about Presurgical Naso-alveolar Molding Therapy in cleft lip/palate infants: A Questionnaire-based Survey

“…World Health Organisation (WHO) has witnessed the responsible role of the oral health care professionals and research community in promoting oral health. [17][18][19] It is also evident that there is an increased access to nearby dental clinics and limited access to specialty centres. In the same way, it is essential that even in this domain of PSNAM which constitutes tiny tender infants it is highly essential to propagate knowledge and positive attitudes among practising dentists thereby increasing the referral to pediatric dentists by these health professionals.…”

“…[19,22] Concerning necessity of PSNAM prior to definitive surgery, the majority of the dentists responded positively which might be due to the little, incomplete information acquired from colleagues, magazines, or from watching information on social media. A recent study was conducted by Doddamani et al [18] to assess knowledge and attitude among various dental specialties regarding naso-alveolar molding procedures in cleft patients. The dental specialties surveyed were pedodontists, orthodontists, prosthodontists, and oral surgeons.…”