title: A novel technique for presurgical nasoalveolar molding using computer-aided reverse engineering and rapid prototyping.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish a new method of presurgical nasoalveolar molding (NAM) using computer-aided reverse engineering and rapid prototyping technique in infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Five infants (2 males and 3 females with mean age of 1.2 w) with complete UCLP were recruited. All patients were subjected to NAM before the cleft lip repair. The upper denture casts were recorded using a three-dimensional laser scanner within 2 weeks after birth in UCLP infants. A digital model was constructed and analyzed to simulate the NAM procedure with reverse engineering software. The digital geometrical data were exported to print the solid model with rapid prototyping system. The whole set of appliances was fabricated based on these solid models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Laser scanning and digital model construction simplified the NAM procedure and estimated the treatment objective. The appliances were fabricated based on the rapid prototyping technique, and for each patient, the complete set of appliances could be obtained at one time. By the end of presurgical NAM treatment, the cleft was narrowed, and the malformation of nasoalveolar segments was aligned normally.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have developed a novel technique of presurgical NAM based on a computer-aided design. The accurate digital denture model of UCLP infants could be obtained with laser scanning. The treatment design and appliance fabrication could be simplified with a computer-aided reverse engineering and rapid prototyping technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Guo-Min
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhe-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yu-Fen
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003735:Dental Casting Technique; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male