PERIODONTAL STATUS OF PATIENTS WITH CLEFT PALATE (CL) AND UNILATERAL CLEFT LIP, PALATE AND ALVEOLUS (UCLPA)-A COMPARATIVE STUDY.

Background:To evaluate and compare the oral hygiene and periodontal status in children with cleft palate (CP) and unilateral cleft lip, palate and alveolus. Method: 60 patients were taken for the study. They were divided into two groups, group 1 consists of cleft palate patients and group 2 consisted of unilateral cleft lip, palate and alveolus patients. From all the patients, the following parameters were recorded: Plaque Index (PI, Silness and Loe), Sulcus Bleeding Index (SBI, Muhlemann and Son), Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), Clinical Attachment Level (CAL). Results: Prevalence of periodontal disease is high among patients with cleft lip, alveolus and palate than in cleft palate as indicated by all parameters. Conclusion: In this study, patients with cleft lip, palate and alveolus had poor oral hygiene and periodontal status compared with patients with cleft palate.