Gingival esthetics and oral health-related quality of life in patients with cleft lip and palate

While the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is known to be reduced in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP), its inter-dependency with the soft tissue characteristics of the CLP area remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the soft tissue characteristics in the treated cleft area in order to investigate whether gingival esthetics correlate with OHRQoL. Thirty-six patients with unilateral or bilateral CLP (46 cleft areas) were investigated after secondary/tertiary alveolar bone grafting and orthodontic/prosthetic implant treatment using an adapted score to rate gingival esthetics (clinical esthetic score, CES).

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