Alveolar cleft is a common congenital developmental defect accompanied with cleft lip and palate. In order to eliminate oronasal fistula, improve the periodontal condition of the teeth adjacent to the cleft and provide bone support during the period of teeth eruption, secondary bone grafting is needed as an essential procedure for alveolar cleft patients. Fresh autogenous bone from appropriate sites（i.e. iliac crest） is the“gold standard”for alveolar cleft osteoplasty, however it is often related to the disadvantages such as limited availability, donor site morbidity, repeated operations due to the absorption of the grafted bone and bone growth of the patients, all of these impose a heavy burden for the patients. To overcome these limitations, tissue engineering bone has provided predictable results with minimal donor-site morbidity. Here we review the three prerequisites consist of cell, scaffold, signaling molecular for tissue engineering and illustrate the relationship between tissue engineering bone and orthodontics for alveolar cleft.
