Effectiveness of Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding Appliance in Infants With Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of the presurgical nasoalveolar molding appliance among infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate. METHODS: In this prospective study, 95 pairs of casts of infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate treated by presurgical nasoalveolar molding were selected at the Children's Hospital 1 at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The average time of treatment was 3 months. All casts were scanned and measured using 3-dimensional technology before and after treatment. Paired t tests were applied for comparisons. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the nostril height in cleft side (P < .001), decrease in the nostril width and columella angle (P < .001), and decrease in cleft width and midline deviation (P < .001) after treatment with presurgical nasoalveolar molding appliance. CONCLUSIONS: Nasoalveolar molding appliance is effective in improving the morphology of nostril and maxillary alveolar. Understanding this helps orthodontists and surgeons in treatment outcome expectations.