Gingivoperiosteoplasty in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate: The Need for Alveolar Bone Grafting.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the efficacy of gingivoperiosteoplasty (GPP) in preventing alveolar bone grafting (ABG) among children with cleft lip and palate (CLP).

Design/setting: Retrospective university hospital single center study.

Patients: Children with CLP treated with GPP from 2000-2015 were included. Those under eight years of age, without definitive conclusions regarding need for ABG or with incomplete data were excluded.

Interventions: Included patients were analyzed for demographics, cleft type, age at GPP, associated cleft surgery, use of nasoalveolar molding (NAM), indication for ABG, operating surgeon and presence of residual alveolar fistula. T-tests and Fisher's exact tests were utilized for statistical analysis.

Main outcome measure: The need for ABG.

Results: Of the 1682 children identified with CLP, 64 underwent GPP and met inclusion criteria. 78% of patients with CLP who underwent GPP were recommended for ABG. Those who received GPP at a younger age (P = .004) and at the time of initial cleft lip repair (P = .022) were less likely to be recommended for ABG. Patients with complete CLP were more likely to be recommended for ABG than patients with cleft lip and alveolus only (P = .015). The operating surgeon impacted the likelihood of ABG (P = .004). Patient gender, race, ethnicity, laterality, and NAM were not significantly associated with recommendation for ABG.

Conclusion: GPP does not preclude the need for ABG. Therefore, the success of ABG after GPP and maxillary growth restriction should be analyzed further to determine if GPP is a worthwhile adjunct to ABG in cleft care.