Potential Complications and Challenges Experienced by Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate - myFace (2024)

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Potential Complications and Challenges Experienced by Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate - myFace? ›

Beyond the cosmetic abnormality, other possible complications that may be associated with cleft lip and cleft palate include: Feeding difficulties. Feeding difficulties occur more with cleft palate abnormalities. The infant may be unable to suck properly because the roof of the mouth is not fully formed.

Beyond the cosmetic abnormality, other possible complications that may be associated with cleft lip and cleft palate include: Feeding difficulties. Feeding difficulties occur more with cleft palate abnormalities. The infant may be unable to suck properly because the roof of the mouth is not fully formed.

Damage to deeper structures – such as nerves, blood vessels, muscles and auditory canal can occur and may be temporary or permanent. Infection. Irregular healing of scars including shortening, thickening or overgrowth. Poor healing of incisions.

hearing problems – some babies with a cleft palate are more vulnerable to ear infections and a build-up of fluid in their ears (glue ear), which may affect their hearing. dental problems – a cleft lip and palate can mean a child's teeth do not develop correctly and they may be at a higher risk of tooth decay.

Children with a cleft lip or a cleft palate, depending on the size of the openings, may have problems eating and breathing. As they grow older, they may also have speech and language delays. Children with cleft lip or palate are also more likely to have ear infections, hearing loss, and problems with their teeth.

The most impactful factor was not taking folic acid during pregnancy. The primary risk factors associated with cleft lip and palate include a family history of the condition, lack of folic acid supplementation, maternal age over 35 years, and high temperatures exceeding 39 °C.

Speech and language delay

Proper speech is dependent upon many factors, but the most common problems associated with cleft lip and palate are related to articulation and nasal escape during speech. Nasal escape may be caused by a short palate or by palate dysfunction due to problems with the palatal muscle.

Children with cleft lip or cleft palate require early evaluation by a dentist familiar with their special needs. These children may have problems with poorly positioned, malformed, or missing teeth. With early detection and intervention, children with cleft lips or cleft palates can lead normal, healthy lives.

What are the dental problems in cleft lip and palate? ›

Many children born with a cleft of the lip and/or palate will have missing teeth, particularly in the line of the cleft. They may also have extra teeth, misshapen or malformed teeth (Figure 1). As a result their teeth can be crowded, tilted or rotated (Figure 2).

Babies born with a cleft lip or cleft palate may have difficulties eating (both from the breast and a bottle). They may also have trouble speaking, and they often have fluid behind their eardrum that can affect their hearing. Some also have issues with their teeth.

It is not unusual for functional problems related to the cleft to remain into adulthood. These may include speech problems, hearing problems, fistulas (small holes in the palate), dental problems, or breathing problems due to nasal obstruction, to name only a few.

Most times, cleft lip repair is done when the child is 3 to 6 months old. For cleft lip surgery, your child will have general anesthesia (asleep and not feeling pain). The surgeon will trim the tissues and sew the lip together. The stitches will be very small so that the scar is as small as possible.

Children with Van der Woude syndrome typically have a combination of a cleft lip and/or cleft palate in addition to a pit or slit on both sides of the lower lip. These slits, or depressions, are usually the same on both sides of the mouth, although their appearance can range from very wide to barely noticeable.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are thought to be caused by a combination of genes and other factors. CDC research has found some factors that increase the risk of having a baby with an orofacial cleft: Smoking during pregnancy12. Having diabetes before pregnancy (type 1 or 2)3.