Presurgical nasoalveolar orthopedic molding in primary correction of the nose, lip, and alveolus of infants born with unilateral and bilateral clefts

This addendum to the "State of the Art Dental Treatment of Predental and Infant Patients With Clefts and Craniofacial Anomalies," by Prahl-Andersen (Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2000;37:528532), offers an extended perspective on this controversial subject. This article reviews the role of combined nasal and alveolar (nasoalveolar) molding in the primary correction of the nose, lip, and alveolus of infants born with unilateral and bilateral clefts. The background of presurgical nasoalveolar orthopedic molding, the technique, and the literature are presented. The proposed benefits of treatment from the traditional techniques of presurgical orthopedics have been shown to be unsubstantiated (Kuijpers-Jagtman and Prahl, 1996). A close comparison of the proposed benefits of earlier forms of presurgical orthopedics, along with those of the current technique of nasoalveolar molding, is presented.