Scandcleft randomised trials of primary surgery for unilateral cleft lip and palate: 7. Occlusion in 5 year-olds according to the Huddart and Bodenham index

AbstractBackground and aim: Good dentofacial development and good occlusion are main goals in the treatment of UCLP. The aim was to evaluate dental occlusion at age 5 years with the Huddart and Bodenham index after four different protocols of primary surgery for UCLP.Design: Three parallel randomised controlled trials were undertaken as an international multicentre study by 10 cleft teams in five countries: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the UK.Methods: Three different surgical procedures for primary palatal repair (Arms B, C, and D) were tested against a common procedure (Arm A) in the total cohort of 448 children born with non-syndromic UCLP. Dental casts of 418 patients (272 boys, 146 girls), at the mean age of 5.1 years (range =4.7–6.9) were blindly assessed by 10 orthodontists with the original Huddart and Bodenham index. The main outcome measure was dental occlusion.Results: The inter- and intra-examiner reliability was good-to-excellent (0.61–0.94; 0.66–1.0, respectively). The mean total sco...