Methods: The study involved 8 subjects who were treated at the Dental Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, Prince of Songkla University (4 females and 4 males; 16.75+2.43 years). For each subject, decortications and alveolar bone grafting were performed at the same time. Autogenous bone graft was harvested from the iliac crest. The graft (average thickness of 1.0-1.5 mm) was placed on the cleft sites and in the decortication areas. Two weeks after the operation, orthodontic tooth movement was initiated and was then followed up using a faster rate of activation at two-week interval. Clinical photographs and study models were recorded at baseline, every 2 weeks, and 6 months after the operations. Postero-anterior cephalograms and cone-beam computed tomography images were taken before and 6 months after the operation.
Results: Buccal crown tipping (1-5 degrees) and palatal crown tipping (1-4 degrees) of the first molar were detected. No significant differences in the buccal and palatal alveolar bone thickness at crest level (S1), midroot level (S2) and apical level (S3) of the canine, the second premolar and the first molar regions. Average interpremolar and intermolar width were increased 4.16 + 0.42 mm and 1.70 + 0.55 mm, respectively. The average rate of tooth movement of premolars and molars were 0.93+0.72 mm/month and 0.47 + 0.15 mm/ month, respectively.
Conclusions: Within the limitations of the study, it can be concluded that decortication technique is beneficial for orthodontic treatment in patients with cleft lip and cleft palate.