Alveolar bone grafting surgery is one of the most important parts of treating cleft lip, alveolus, and cleft palate defect. Therefore, it is essential for the patients to get treated at the right point of time to avoid any long term issues. The best time for this surgery is around 9-11 years when the canine is erupting as it provides bone support to the erupting tooth. There are various aspects which are associated with the cleft surgery which ensures that the patients are integrated into a normal functioning and anatomical condition at the earliest. Here are some of the benefits of the alveolar bone graft :

  • Provides bone support
  • Provides support to the upper jaws which thereby leads to better chewing and aesthetics.
  • Provides better stability to the bone present around it, thereby creating a strong base for the teeth in the later years.

Here are some of the important measures to be taken for the during the cleft surgery:

Managing the child patient

Most children patients do not co-operate with the cleft team due to past trauma and fear. They have to be counselled well by the parents and the child specialists and motivate them to co-operate in the whole procedure. Co-operation from the child is important

Choice of the bone tissue 

The survival of the bone tissue taken for the alveolar bone surgery needs to suit the patient’s oral cavity to function properly throughout the life. Also, the tissue should not react as a foreign material inside the oral cavity. For this, persons own bone is used. Cancellous bone (rich is cells) is preferred over the cortical bone (hard)  in most of the cases as the former bone has better vascularity and more bone regeneration.

The Site of donor's bone

Various parts of the body are kept as options while deciding the source of the alveolar bone in the cleft lip and palate surgeries. The hip bone is rich is bone cells and  is the most chosen  donor bone for the most alveolar bone surgeries. This ensures that the alveolar bone grafting gets the right type of the donor's bone for highest success.  

Proper care is taken by the consulting dentists and surgeons regarding the right time of the commencement of the alveolar graft procedure. Most of the children who undergo this treatment are in the age range of seven to eleven years. Here, the important aspect is the consideration of the dental health of the patients. Therefore, the age of the patient is not as important as the teeth condition. Concurrent orthodontic treatment is mandatory to expand the arch and align the teeth into proper position