Assessment and Comparison of Sense of Coherence in Young Individuals Participating in the Treatment of their Cleft Lip and Palate Anomalies: A Prospective Interventional Study

Introduction: Cleft lip and/or Cleft of Palate (CL/P) is amongst the most common congenital oral and maxillofacial deformities. CL/P is not thought to be harmful to one’s health. However, even if a cleft is treated early in a child’s development, there are genuine consequences, including the possibility of long-term negative health impacts such as functional and psychological issues. Antonovsky A developed a questionnaire to measure the Sense Of Coherence (SOC). It consists of three elements: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. In patients having any kind of deviancy, SOC provides positive experiences such as increased sense of purpose, expectations, spiritual practices, respect and understanding, self-improvement and confidence, and connections have all improved.

Need of the study: Undergoing orthodontic treatment along with psychological counselling can improve the mental, emotional and social well-being of cleft lip and palate patients.

Aim: To assess changes in SOC of young patients undergoing treatment for cleft lip and palate anomalies.

Materials and Methods: The present prospective interventional study will be conducted in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Sharad Pawar Dental College, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, Maharashtra, India, and to be conducted on 20 patients of 14 years and below, with cleft lip and palate. Data will be gathered via questionnaires which will be distributed to patients having CL/P undergoing orthodontic treatment. The questionnaires will be collected within half an hour and will be checked, if completed. Patients will be given the same questionnaires at different points of time, i.e., at the start of the treatment, two months, six months and one year after the start of treatment. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical software (27.0) and Graph Pad Prism will be used to analyse the data (version 7.0).