Mandibular canine development as an indicator of maxillary cleft site canine development

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine if mandibular canine development is an indicator of maxillary cleft site canine development. A cross-sectional chart review with analysis of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging of patients aged 7–12 with a unilateral complete cleft lip and palate who received alveolar bone graft surgery from January 2009 to January 2019. Three-dimensional (3D) measurements of the cleft site canine and ipsilateral mandibular canine were taken. A two-dimensional image was created from the 3D CBCT to simulate a traditional panoramic radiograph. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for age and gender. Pearson and Spearman correlations were calculated. The main outcome measure was the mandibular canine crown-to-root ratio (C:RR) compared to that of the maxillary cleft site canine C:RR. Five hundred and thirteen patients were reviewed, of which 78 met the inclusion criteria. Adjusting for age and gender, every unit change in mandibular canine C:RR corresponds to 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42–0.95) change in maxillary canine C:RR, up to a mandibular canine C:RR of 3. Beyond a mandibular C:RR of 3, no change in the maxillary canine C:RR was observed (−0.02; 95%CI = −0.27–0.24). Pearson correlation coefficient was r = 0.65, and the Spearman correlation was P = 0.75. Mandibular canine C:RR is correlated to maxillary cleft site canine C:RR when the mandibular canine C:RR is ≤3.