Background: At present, little is known about the difference in caries experience in preschoolers with cleft lip/palate compared
with the non-cleft children. Moreover, the studies regarding dental treatment needs, dental anomalies and malocclusion in
these children are scarce.
Objective: To examine dental caries experience, treatment needs, dental anomalies, tooth malalignment and malocclusion in preschool children with cleft lip and/or palate at the Tawanchai Center of Cleft Lip-Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Deformities, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University.
Material and Method: Data were obtained from oral examination and medical records. Caries was diagnosed as decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth using the criteria of the World Health Organization with no radiographs. Type of dental treatment needs, dental anomalies, tooth malalignment and malocclusion were assessed.
Results: One hundred and twenty children whose mean age of 3.4 years fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were 71 boys (59.2%) and 49 girls (40.8%). Majority (70%) of the children had cleft lip and palate. The caries prevalence was 83.3% with
the mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth of 8.78. There were 98 children (81.7%) who needed some types of invasive dental
treatment. High prevalence of dental anomalies, malalignment and malocclusion were also found in 24.2%, 58.3% and 86.7% of the sample, respectively. The children in cleft lip and palate group exhibited significant higher prevalence of caries experience (86.9% vs. 78.9%, 70.6%), and malocclusion (94.0% vs. 68.4%, 70.6%) and required more treatment needs
(85.7% vs. 78.9%, 64.7%) than children in cleft palate and cleft lip groups.
Conclusion: This study indicates that cleft children have high caries prevalence and highly required dental treatment which
greatly increase in prevalence and complexity after 2 years of age. Moreover, they also presented high prevalence of dental
anomalies, tooth malalignment and malocclusion. Therefore, oral health promotion, prevention and early intervention are of
importance and should be established at an early age.

Keywords: Cleft lip and/or palate, Dental caries, Treatment needs, Dental anomalies, Malocclusion