Cleft Lip & Palate In Dallas
Learn about Cleft Lip and Palate with Dr Michael Stewart and Stewart & Arango Oral Surgery here…
Cleft lip and palate come about during pregnancy when the separate areas of the face grow without joining together or when some parts of the roof of the mouth and lips do not join properly. The result is the child is left with what is known as a cleft lip or a cleft palate.
Cleft Lip
Cleft lip, where the lip is not completely formed, can cause a number of issues from the appearance of the face to the ability to make certain sounds necessary for speaking properly. With a cleft lip, there is a hole in the upper lip between the mouth and the nose. This can give the appearance of a split in the lip from a small amount to the separation of the lip from either or both sides right up to the nose. A unilateral cleft lip is a cleft lip only one side of the mouth. A bilateral cleft lip is when a cleft occurs on both sides of the mouth.
Cleft lip can also involve a cleft in the gum. This too, can be the result of a small gap to a complete separation of the gum into two parts. The same problem associate with the upper part of the mouth is called a left palate.
Cleft Palate
Cleft palate also occurs during pregnancy when the separate parts of the face and mouth do not develop properly to form together or form proper joins. A hole in the roof of the mouth, the palate, forms with the condition therefore known as a cleft palate.
There are two main areas of the palate that can be malformed leading to a cleft palate. There is the soft palate, the back of the mouth and the hard palate, the front of the mouth. The palate is extremely important for speaking and stops air from blowing out of the mouth. As you can imagine, this will create a number of problems for the child suffering from a cleft palate. Babies with a cleft palate may also have a small chin – known as Pierre Robin sequence. These children often have problems breathing.
Cleft Lip and Palate
It is possible for a child to be born with both a cleft lip and a cleft palate because they form separately. Children born with either a cleft lip, a cleft palate or a cleft lip and palate normally require the attention of a number of specialists, including those trained in oral and maxillofacial surgery, such as Dr Michael Stewart. It is important to note cleft lip and cleft palate actually occurs in about one of every 800 children born.
Cleft Lip Treatment
Surgery for cleft lip is normally performed when a child reaches around 10 years of age and a number of surgery options are available to be discussed with parents or carers. If you are looking a dentist for oral surgery, then Contact Drs. Stewart and Arango and their staff are always available to help. call us at 214.269.1244.
Cleft Palate Treatment
Cleft palate treatments and surgery are normally performed before the child is 18 months of age depending on the individual child.
- Cleft palate treatments are designed to repair are restore the following;
- The gap between the roof of the mouth and nasal passages
- Restore the muscles so the palate functions properly
- Restore the size of the palate so it functions properly
After Surgery And What To Expect
Immediate results are seen with the repair of a cleft palate. Those children will immediately have an easier time eating and drinking. Unfortunately, around one in five children suffer from a re-occurrence of the split in the palate and in the case of a large opening further surgery will be required.
