Long Term Effects of the Latham Presurgical Maxillary Orthopedic Appliance, Including Effects on Tooth Growth

Abstract

Reported beneficial effects of presurgical maxillary orthopedics in cleft lip include reduction of the cleft width, alignment of the maxillary segments, elevation of the alar base on the cleft side, diminished need for alveolar bone grafting and lip closure without tension. Possible adverse effects of presurgical maxillary orthopedics include tooth root damage and inability of periosteoplasty to make bone over the cleft. A series of wide cleft lip patients (n=15) treated with the Latham appliance at the time of lip closure were retrospectively compared with a similar group treated without the Latham appliance. The Latham appliance group (seven unilateral clefts, eight bilateral clefts; mean follow-up 9.5 years; range four to 18 years) was treated between the years 1980 and 1994. None of the 15 patients treated with the appliance had any tooth loss or damage attributable to the pins, and bone formation in the alveolar cleft was observed radiographically in all 13 of the patients who had a periosteoplasty at the time of lip repair, possibly obviating the need for secondary bone grafting. Five of these Latham group patients demonstrated clinical and radiographic evidence of tooth eruption into the periosteoplasty-formed bone. There was no consistent difference in the level of nasal alar base elevation in the two groups.