Development of cleft children’s permanent canines

ABSTRACT Objective: Evaluating the development of the permanent cuspids in children from Paraíba with cleft lip and palate applying the Nolla and the Demirjian methods. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an inductive approach and applying a comparative statistical procedure and direct documentation research technique. The universe of the study consisted of children assisted at the orthodontic practice of the Brazilian Association of Dentistry - Paraíba Section. The sample comprised 72 pairs of panoramic radiographs of children with and without cleft lip and palate from the same gender and, age difference of up to 30 days, ranging from 5 to 13 years of age. The study has evaluated the development of 576 cuspids. The images were evaluated by three duly calibrated examiners concomitantly, and the calcification stages were determined by a consensus. The stages of the cuspids calcification were evaluated in the panoramic radiographs according to Nolla and Demirjian classifications. Results: The average of the calcification stage of teeth was correspondingly higher in the control group than in the case group, showing a development delay of the cuspid teeth in the cleft lip and palate patients. The lower cuspids were significantly more developed than the upper cuspids (p