Preface

In 2003, the editors of this book noticed a lack of organized information about dental care for individuals with craniofacial disorders. Then, the editors performed a literature review about different craniofacial disorders and wrote an informal handout, which the editors made available in the local library. As years went by, that handout turned out to be widely borrowed and used as reference in their institution, which encouraged the editors to expand the information and transform that handout in the present ebook.

The editors work as pediatric dentists in a tertiary hospital and are often challenged with a wide array of disorders, frequently facing situations in which individuals and their families must travel even days to attend the institution for accomplishment of dental procedures that could be performed by professionals at their cities of origin, if only they had a little more information about craniofacial disorders. In some international experiences, the editors observed that, worldwide, there is still a lot of misconception and disinformation about when and how to treat the different disorders present in individuals with craniofacial disorders.

The organization of this book into chapters was largely based on the classic book “Syndromes of the head and neck” (Gorlin, 1990), which the editors consider fundamental for professionals who want to dive deeper into the world of craniofacial disorders.

To enhance the understanding on “hows and whys”, Chapter 1 presents rich information about craniofacial embryology. This chapter was written by the eminent embryologist Kathleen K. Sulik, who describes craniofacial development in detail with the aid of amazing scanning electron micrographs of embryos, allowing the reader to travel through the stages of normal and abnormal embryonic development.

Chapters 2 and 3 present basic concepts of genetics and teratology, enhancing the knowledge of readers so that they can better understand the information presented in following chapters.

Chapters 4 to 8 describe the different craniofacial disorders in a similar sequence as in “Syndromes of the head and neck”, presenting the disorders with their respective etiology, systemic involvement, and peculiarities in dental treatment. All contributors in these chapters have current and/or previous clinical experience in providing dental care to individuals with craniofacial malformations, and much of the information presented in these chapters were observed in investigations conducted at the editors’ institution.

Finally, in Chapter 9, the authors describe the surgical steps required for complex dentomaxillofacial reconstruction in different disorders. These surgical procedures aim at both esthetic and functional improvement, and are paramount for the thorough rehabilitation of individuals.

The aim of this ebook is to be a chairside resource for clinical dentists who wish to offer dental care for individuals with craniofacial disorders. The editors’ goal, when organizing this ebook, was to enhance the knowledge of dental professionals across the world about craniofacial disorders, their orodental features and peculiarities in dental treatment, so that individuals affected by such syndromes may have increasingly better and easier access to dental care.

We wish the readers all the best when assisting individuals with craniofacial malformations. We hope you will find the present information useful, and we wish you a rewarding experience in treating these individuals and watching them grow stronger and more self-reassured with your collaboration.

We also wish all the best to individuals with craniofacial malformations and their families, with special consideration to those attending the editors’ institution – the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, University of São Paulo at Bauru, Brazil, who were the main driving force behind this ebook, and special thanks to individuals and their families who kindly granted permission to publish their images in this ebook. This book was inspired by you, and is dedicated to you.