Management of Alveolar Cleft

The alveolar cleft has not received as much attention as labial or palatal clefts, and the management of this cleft remains controversial. The management of alveolar cleft is varied, according to the timing of operation, surgical approach, and the choice of graft material. Gingivoperiosteoplasty does not yet have a clear concensus among surgeons. Primary bone graft is associated with maxillary retrusion, and because of this, secondary bone graft is the most widely adopted. However, a number of surgeons employ presurgical palatal appliance prior to primary alveolar bone graft and have found ways to minimize flap dissection, which is reported to decrease the rate of facial growth attenuation and crossbite. In this article, the authors wish to review the literature regarding various advantages and disadvantages of these approaches.