The Effect of Immediate Versus Delayed Addition of the Nasal Stent to the Nasoalveolar Molding Plate on Nostrils Shape and Cleft Width in Infants With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate.

OBJECTIVE The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of immediate versus delayed addition of the nasal stent to the nasoalveolar molding plate on the nose shape and alveolar cleft area in unilateral cleft lip and palate infants. METHOD Twenty nonsyndromic newborn infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate were scanned 3 dimensionally using Proface software. In the experimental group, the nasal stent was added on the day the molding plate arrived, and in the control group when the alveolar gap reached 5 mm. Two months after adding nasal stents in each group patients' faces were scanned again and some parameters were measured. In addition, immediately after treatment, 1 month later and at the end of investigation, impressions were taken, and stone casts were scanned by cone-beam computed tomography and the alveolar gap was measured. Fisher exact test, paired t test, and ANOVA were used for data analyses. P   0.05). CONCLUSION Early use of nasal stents showed more desirable results in decreasing the width of the nostrils and increasing its height and correcting the angle of the columella without any adverse effects on the nostrils after treatment.