A New Approach to Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding in Patients With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate and Severe Cleft Width

: The aim of this study was to describe a new approach to the presurgical orthopedic treatment of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients with severe cleft width. Modified nostril retainers manufactured from soft acrylic were used for the nasal molding. This technique enables the separation of the nasal molding without having to reduce the cleft width to 5 mm. Nasal molding with the modified nostril retainer resulted in the patient and the physician experiencing a more comfortable treatment period.