The cleft lip and palate is the most common congenital malformation among craniofacial anomalies and causes a series of functional, physiological, aesthetic and social alterations. One commonly characteristic associated with these patients is a severe maxillary hypoplasia as a result of the great resistance opposed by scar lip and palate tissue from a primary surgery. Traditionally, the suggested treatment has been conventional orthognathic surgery at the end of skeletal maturity. However, this approach has revealed certain limitations. Distraction osteogenesis using a rigid external distractor has shown to be a good alternative for these patients’ treatment, since it allows the gradual distraction of the maxilla and the associated tissues, thereby improving the short and long term results. A review of the available literature was performed to describe the maxillary distraction osteoge...

La fisura labio-palatina es la malformación congénita más común entre las anomalías craneofaciales y causa una serie de alteraciones a nivel funcional, fisiológico, estético y social. Una de las características comúnmente asociada a estos pacientes, es la hipoplasia maxilar severa producto de la gran resistencia opuesta por los tejidos cicatrizales de labio y paladar, como consecuencia de la cirugía primaria. Tradicionalmente, el tratamiento ha sido la cirugía ortognática convencional al término del crecimiento, sin embargo, este enfoque ha demostrado tener ciertas limitaciones. La distracción osteogénica mediante un distractor rígido externo ha resultado ser una buena alternativa para el manejo de estos pacientes, ya que permite la distracción gradual del maxilar y de los tejidos asociados, mejorando los resultados a corto y largo plazo. Se realizó una revisión de la ...

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry defines Special Health Care Needs as “any physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment condition or limitation that requires medical management, health care intervention, and/or the use of specialized services or programs”. Currently, patients with special health needs present a higher survival rate and higher life expectancies. In addition, they present a higher prevalence and severity of malocclusion that negatively impact their general health and quality of life. The growing concern of parents and professionals for the aesthetic and functional aspect, has led to an increase in the demand for orthodontic treatment, however, the health care access still remains limited. A review of the available literature was performed aiming at describing the considerations in the orthodontic treatment of speci...

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry defines Special Health Care Needs as “any physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment condition or limitation that requires medical management, health care intervention, and/or the use of specialized services or programs”. Currently, patients with special health needs present a higher survival rate and higher life expectancies. In addition, they present a higher prevalence and severity of malocclusion that negatively impact their general health and quality of life. The growing concern of parents and professionals for the aesthetic and functional aspect, has led to an increase in the demand for orthodontic treatment, however, the health care access still remains limited. A review of the available literature was performed aiming at describing the considerations in the orthodontic treatment of speci...