In honor of National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, Austin Dental Center would like to do our part in sharing information in support:

Receiving the news that your newborn has any type of birth defect can be horribly unnerving, yet a cleft palate is nothing to panic about nowadays. There is much that can be done to correct the issue and the child will be able to maintain a perfectly normal lifestyle thereafter.

However, there are real concerns that should be realized and addressed in order to prevent problems down the road.

A cleft palate, which is a result of the roof of the mouth not forming correctly during pregnancy, can cause complications in tooth development and placement for both baby and adult teeth.

The cleft, which generally affects the lateral incisors, can result in these teeth being absent, being doubled, or growing in the wrong location within the mouth. However, it is not just the lateral incisors that can be affected. This will likely mean an early trip to the dentist so an evaluation can be done to determine the health and position of incoming teeth.

Consult with your dentist immediately upon recognizing the problem, so he or she can give advice on future care. Typically, it will be recommended that children with clefts be seen for the first time by one year old and an orthodontic visit may be scheduled even earlier.

With proper cleaning, good nutrition and regular dental and orthodontic care, problems can generally be corrected, so the child will have full formed, well placed, healthy teeth. At times this may call for surgical intervention, but the decision should be made between you and your dental team.

To learn more about the possible procedures and special care needed for cleft patients, visit the full article.