Cleft Palate Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cleft Palate, including details on causes, surgery, treatment.

Application of limited cone beam computed tomography to clinical assessment of alveolar bone grafting: a preliminary report.

Hamada Y, Kondoh T, Noguchi K, Iino M, Isono H, Ishii H, Mishima A, Kobayashi K, Seto K

First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tsurumi University, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi, Yokohama, Japan. hamada-y@tsurumi-u.ac.jp

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the clinical applicability of limited cone beam computed tomography (Dental 3D-CT) for assessment of bone-grafted alveolar cleft. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventeen bone bridges were examined after alveolar bone grafting in 13 patients with cleft lip and palate. All bone bridges, including cleft-adjacent teeth, were examined by plain radiography and the Dental 3D-CT imaging system. RESULTS: The plain radiographs showed the approximate condition of the bone bridge and cleft-adjacent teeth. The Dental 3D-CT images clearly showed precise three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the bone bridge, 3D relationships between the bone bridge and the roots of cleft-adjacent teeth, and their periodontal condition. In addition, the conditions surrounding dental implants installed in the bone bridge could be observed three-dimensionally. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the Dental 3D-CT imaging system is suitable for clinical assessment of alveolar bone grafting before and after installation of dental implants or orthodontic treatment of the cleft-adjacent teeth.

Published 7 March 2005 in Cleft Palate Craniofac J, 42(2): 128-37.
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