Tissue engineering solutions for cleft palates

Purpose: Clefts of the lip and palate are the most prevalent congenital craniofacial birth defect in humans. The developing field of tissue engineering is considered for the management of clefts of the lip and palate. Materials and Methods: A review of the literature was carried out by using electronic databases (such as PubMed and ISI Web of Science) to search topics including "cleft palate," "tissue engineering," "bone engineering," "palate engineering," and "alveolar bone grafting." To reflect current practice and research, these searches were limited primarily to articles published after the year 2000. Results: Current approaches for the treatment of clefts of the lip and palate include surgery and bone grafts; however, there are limitations associated with these therapies. Tissue engineering strategies, particularly alveolar bone engineering and soft tissue engineering, may provide clinicians with new alternatives. The application of these emerging technologies to a pediatric population must be well considered. Conclusions: A tissue engineering approach may be a useful alternative for the treatment of cleft palates as it mitigates the concerns of donor site morbidity as well as provides additional options including scaffold implantation and growth factor delivery. (c) 2007 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.