OBJECTIVE: To three-dimensionally assess differences in craniomaxillofacial skeletal development in patients with operated unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) treated with/without presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) with a mean age of 5 years.
METHODS: Cone-beam CT radiographs of 30 patients with UCLP who had undergone PNAM and 34 patients with UCLP who did not receive PNAM were analyzed. The data were stored in DICOM file format and were imported into the Dolphin Imaging program for 3D image reconstruction and landmark identification. 33 landmarks, 17 linear and three angular variables representing craniofacial morphology were analyzed and compared by using the Mann-Whitney U tests.
RESULTS: The vast majority of linear variables and 3D coordinates of landmark points reflecting craniofacial skeletal symmetry were not significantly different between the two groups. In terms of craniofacial skeletal development, the PNAM group had a significantly smaller anterior nasal spine offset in the midsagittal plane and a greater maxillary length compared to the non-PNAM group.
CONCLUSIONS: Evaluations performed in early childhood showed that treatment with/without PNAM in the neonatal period was not a major factor influencing craniomaxillofacial hard tissue development in patients with UCLP; moreover, PNAM treatment showed significant correction of skeletal deviation at the base of the nose.
CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up in early childhood has shown that PNAM treatment administered during the neonatal stage does not impede maxillary development and has benefits in correcting nasal floor deviation. It is a viable option for improving nasal deformity in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCCLP) is one of the most severe clinical subphenotypes among nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCL/P), that complicates surgical repair operations. Presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) is a technique used to reshape the nose, lip and alveolar bone of infants with UCCLP before surgery (the modified Mohler rotation advancement cheiloplasty and two flap palatoplasty), with the potential to facilitate surgical repair. However, the effectiveness of PNAM treatment is still a matter of debate. In this paper, the 3Shape scanning system and 3dMD stereophotography were used to assess the short-term and long-term effects of PNAM treatment on the dental arch morphology and nasolabial features of patients with UCCLP, respectively. The findings indicated that PNAM treatment negatively affects both short-term and long-term dental arch shape compared to the treatment without PNAM, particularly in terms of limiting the transverse width of the maxillary canine-to-midline. Regarding the nasal and labial symmetry, PNAM improves the symmetry of the nasal alae in patients over 7 years old and the symmetry of the lip in patients under 7 years old. Moreover, UCCLP patients who received PNAM treatment exhibited a shorter and wider shape of the nostril on the cleft side compared to those without PNAM treatment. In clinical practice, the multidisciplinary team should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of the outcomes of PNAM treatment when treating infants with cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE: Unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCCLP) is one of the most severe clinical subtypes among cleft lip and palate (CLP), making repair surgery and subsequent orthodontic treatment particularly challenging. Presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) has shown conflicting and heterogeneous results in the treatment of UCCLP patients, raising questions about whether the diversity in alveolar anatomical morphology among these patients plays a role in the effectiveness of PNAM treatment.
METHODS: We collected 90 digital maxillary models of infants with UCCLP and performed mathematical clustering analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA), decision tree modeling, and area under the ROC Curve (AUC) analysis, to classify alveolar morphology and identify key measurements. We also conducted clinical evaluations to assess the association between the alveolar morphology and CLP treatment outcomes.
RESULTS: Using mathematical clustering analysis, we classified the alveolar morphology into three distinct types: average form, horizontal form, and longitudinal form. The decision tree model, AUC analysis, and comparison analysis revealed that four measurements (Trans ACG-ACL, ML length, MG length and Inc length) were essential for clustering the alveolar morphology of infants with UCCLP. Furthermore, the blinded clinical evaluation indicated that UCCLP patients with alveolar segments of horizontal form had the lowest treatment outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings establish a novel quantitative classification system for the morphology of alveolar bone in infants with UCCLP and suggest that this classification may be associated with the outcomes of CLP treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: The multidisciplinary CLP team should thoroughly evaluate and classify the specific alveolar morphology when administering PNAM to infants with UCCLP.

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the alveolar changes of complete unilateral cleft lip (UCCL) patients after pre-surgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) treatment using a three-dimensional method.
METHODS: Palate impressions of thirty UCCL patients who underwent PNAM treatment in the Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were taken pre- and post-PNAM. The plaster impressions were scanned using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The DICOM files were exported and 3D models reconstructed in Mimics 15.0. The following parameters were analyzed in SPSS 17.0: cleft alveolar gap width, alveolar arch end width, upper lip frenulum-median plane distance, alveolar shift distance, and length of alveolar section.
RESULTS: After PNAM treatment, the cleft alveolar gap width and upper lip frenulum-median plane distance decreased significantly (P<0.05). No statistically significant change was observed in the alveolar arch end width (P>0.05). Alveolar shift distances for both sides increased significantly (P<0.05), and the shift distance of major alveolar sec-tion had a more significant increase than the minor alveolar section. The lengths of the alveolar section of both sides increased significantly (P<0.05) with the length of the major alveolar section increasing more significantly than the minor alveolar section.
CONCLUSIONS: The impression-CBCT method supply accurate three-dimensional data of the alveolar process. The PNAM treatment can significantly correct alveolar deformity and improve appearance.
目的 应用三维测量分析法对单侧完全性唇裂患者行术前鼻牙槽塑形（PNAM）治疗后牙槽突的变化进行评价。方法 选取2013年11月—2015年6月于广西医科大学附属口腔医院完成PNAM治疗的单侧完全性唇裂患者30例，分别于PNAM治疗前后制取腭部口腔石膏模型，以锥形束CT（CBCT）采集DICOM数据，应用Mimics 15.0进行三维重建，并测量牙槽突裂隙宽度、牙槽突末端宽度、上唇系带中线距离、牙槽突移动距离、牙槽突长度，采用SPSS 17.0软件进行对比分析。结果 PNAM治疗前后，患者的牙槽突裂隙宽度、上唇系带中线距离明显缩小（P<
0.05），牙槽突末端宽度差异无统计学意义（P>0.05），较大侧牙槽突移动距离明显大于较小侧（P<0.05），双侧牙槽突长度均有明显增长（P<0.05），较大侧牙槽突增长量明显大于较小侧（P<0.05）。结论 印模+CBCT扫描法可以获得准确的牙槽突三维数据，经过PNAM治疗后，牙槽突形态得到显著改善。.