Cleft Care in a Developing Country: An Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Patients/Parents of Children With an Orofacial Cleft to Orthodontic Treatment

Objective: To assess the knowledge, awareness and attitude to orthodontic treatment of patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts, receiving comprehensive cleft care treatment. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: A major tertiary health care facility in Nigeria, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-araba, Lagos. Participants: Patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts receiving comprehnsive cleft care. Intervention: Patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts were asked to complete the survey. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used. Results: A total of 123 patients participated in the study, 55.3% (68) were females and 44.7% (55) were males. The majority (85.3%, 114) of patients were children aged between 0 and 5 years, while only 7.3% (9) were adults, aged 18 years and above. About one-third (41) of the respondents indicated that they felt “their teeth was not straight.” Although 43.9% (54) reported that they knew that braces could be used to straighten teeth, only 13.8% of the respondents knew who an orthodontist was. Eighty percent (99) indicated that they would be willing to undergo treatment to straighten their teeth or their children/wards’ teeth. Conclusion: The majority of parents of children with clefts and adult patients attending the institution’s cleft clinic had limited knowledge of orthodontics and the orthodontic care required for patients with clefts, although they had a positive attitude toward orthodontic treatment. These findings will guide the center in planning patient-centered orthodontic care for patients with clefts while also highlighting areas of importance for patient counseling and education in the orthodontic care for these patients.