# The prevalence of dental agenesis among children with cleft lip and palate patients in Lahore, Pakistan

## TL;DR

This study looked at how often children with cleft lip and palate in Lahore, Pakistan, are missing teeth and found differences based on the cleft type.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the prevalence of dental agenesis in CLP patients in Lahore, Pakistan, based on cleft type and location.

## Key findings

- Unilateral cleft lip and palate patients showed more significant tooth agenesis compared to bilateral and median cleft cases.
- Maxillary first premolars were more commonly missing outside the cleft region in CLPL and CLPB types.
- The highest mean tooth agenesis was observed in the midline cleft group (CLPM).

## Abstract

This retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study investigated the incidence of tooth agenesis in cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients. Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) radiographs of the CLP children were examined for congenitally missing teeth.

This study was conducted at three radiology centers in Lahore, namely, the Pakistan Jinnah MRI and Body Scan Centre, the University of Lahore Radiology Centres, and Fatima Memorial Hospital, from September 2021 to August 2022. The CLP patients were divided into four groups based on the location of the cleft: Cleft Lip and Palate Right (CLPR), Cleft Lip and Palate Left (CLPL), Bilateral Cleft (CLPB), and Midline Cleft (CLPM), inside and outside the cleft region. Two-way ANOVA was employed to compare the means of agenesis. Tukey’s test was utilized to ascertain where the difference lies. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.

Moreover, a significant number of missing teeth were found inside the cleft. This study observed the CLPL (42.3%) and CLPR (13.6%) types more in number. Maxillary first premolars were found more missing outside the cleft region in CLPL and CLPB types. Although CLPB and CLPM types revealed a pattern of missing teeth, only a few cases were found in this study. Moreover, mean tooth agenesis was highest (4.5 SD.71) in the CLPM group, followed up by CLPB (2.75 SD 2.49), CLPR (1.23 SD 1.27), and CLPL Group (1.15 SD 1.12).

Unilateral cleft lip and palate patients reported significant agenesis patttern compared to bilateral and median cleft cases.