The face is the most prominent body part of ours, in which the basic things we first see in a person is their eyes, nose, lips and front teeth. The aesthetic value of these organs is very important for a healthy and beautiful life. Babies born with a cleft lip or cleft palate understands the value of having a proper and shapely mouth. Such babies are very common occurrence in the world, one of each 700 babies have either a cleft lip or a cleft palate or both.
It is a disorder which they have to bear since their birth. The cleft is a gap which has been formed due to the lack of fusion between both sides of the face. It generally occurs due to the presence of fewer amounts of tissues in the oro-facial region. It not only affects their look but also has some major side-effects in their way of life. They tend to have more dental problems, missing tooth, feeding problems as they are not able to latch on properly to the mother’s nipple. They also have hearing problems, as presence of a cleft palate affects the middle ear and Eustachian tube. But nowadays due to the improvement in medical technology, there are enough treatments for this.
When you are in search for the best cleft lip and palate surgery in India keep in mind that your child will have to keep within checkups and visit the doctors regularly, so it is better that you find a decent hospital within the ranges of your residential area. When the baby will turn a teenager, they may be more conscious of their cleft lip or palate, so it is best to get the surgery done in their childhood. The scarring is less and repair is quite easier and quicker in the early years. The teenagers usually would like a scar free face, improved shape of nose, upper lip and overall facial appearance. They can achieve this by an orthognathic surgery.
A kid with cleft lip and cleft palate will tend to have more dental problems than a normal kid. It is a must for them to visit their dentists regularly along with cleaning and flossing their teeths twice every day. They may require an early orthodontic treatment to ensure the proper expansion of the palate. Some kids when turn adults turn out to have missing permanent tooth which can be easily replaced by a dentist by an artificial one. Thus being in contact with your healthcare provider is very important in the cases of a person with a cleft lip or cleft palate. As adults such a kid may need alveolar bone (this is the bone which forms the tooth sockets) grafts for increasing the stability of permanent teeth.
The surgery is mainly performed by an oral maxillofacial surgeon (dentist specializing in oral surgery), a plastic surgeon and an ear-nose-throat surgeon. After the surgery is done, a baby will need a speech therapist to make sure he or she learns to speak properly and also a psychologist to ensure any trauma associated with the previous presence of cleft lip and cleft palate or due to the surgery.
