Formation of anterior maxillary teeth in 0-3-year-old children with cleft lip and palate and prenatal risk factors for delayed development.

Formation of deciduous and permanent maxillary incisors and canines was studied in 361 children with cleft lip and palate. Altogether, 704 occlusal X rays of the children aged from 2 weeks to 41 months were assessed using a 13-stage scale. The early timing of tooth development was in both dentitions close to that reported for healthy children. However, developmental asymmetry was noted between contralateral teeth on the cleft and noncleft sides. In the unilateral cleft lip and palate group, every tenth cleft-side deciduous central incisor, deciduous canine, and permanent central incisor was delayed compared to the corresponding contralateral tooth. The formation timing was also compared within 11 prenatal and hereditary variables. Risk factors for delayed development were low placental weight, short gestation, mother's use of drugs during pregnancy, first in birth order, cleft with multiple additional malformations, and relatives having malformations other than oral clefts. However, the associations between a risk factor and tooth development were weak.