A Brief Overview Of The Cleft Palate

Children who are born with cleft palate need special attention, as the deformity can cause both physical difficulty as well as psychological and emotional impact. This article will illustrate what cleft palate is, what treatments are available, and how you can take preventive measures.

What is a cleft palate?

A cleft palate is a type of clefting deformity present at birth. It is the abnormal facial formation occurring during pregnancy. Life inside the womb normally goes through sub-division in the body’s natural structure. However, development can become abnormal, causing the palate to have a gap or “hole”. A micro cleft is a minor cleft where surgery is not needed. It can be a tiny, scar-like dent on the lip. Cleft palate occurs between one in 600 to 800 births.

What are the signs of cleft palate?

A cleft palate can be an open and evident gap located at the roof of the mouth. On the other hand, it can be covered by a lining or mucous membrane at the roof of the mouth. This is called a submucous cleft and normally cannot be seen. This type of cleft has a small cleft at the tip of the hard palate, a wide or split uvula, and a thinning of the muscles covered by mucous membrane in the palate.

How can cleft palate be treated?

The ideal overall treatment for children with cleft palate comes from a multidisciplinary specialist team that specializes in the condition. This team can include surgeons, dentists, orthodontists, language therapists, audiologists or hearing specialists, geneticists, psychologists and nurses specializing in the condition. It is often advised that only professionals who specialize in cleft palate or have worked with individuals who’ve had this condition should perform surgery and care needed afterwards. If you’ve given birth to a baby with a cleft palate, the maternity hospital staff may refer you to a specialist center. In specialist centers, you will be provided with advice and support, which is extremely helpful early on.

Successful treatment for cleft palate comes from surgery that is performed right after birth. However, when a surgery can be done varies. An operation involving closing of the gap in the palate is often performed when the baby is around 6 months. During operation, the baby is asleep under general anesthetic and needs to stay in the hospital for 3 to 5 days. A baby with cleft palate often requires to be bottle-fed with special nipples.

When your child grows older, he or she may need more surgery to enhance the function of the palate as well as the appearance of the lip and nose (if both cleft lip and cleft palate are present).

What preventive measures can be done?

Your options include genetic counseling, which involves genetic testing for a family history of clefting and risk assessment, and prenatal vitamins, which include folic acid and other vitamins.

The information and options provided in this article should not be taken as medical advice and should be discussed with a medical professional first.