Cleft Lip and Palate Etiology, Surgery and Repair and Sociopsychological Consequences

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the most frequent congenital malformations of the head and neck. It is the result of the failure of fusion of the facial structures involved in the formation of the lip and palate between the fifth and ninth weeks of pregnancy. In this book, the authors present current research on the aetiology, surgery and repair and socio-psychological consequences relating to cleft lip and palate malformation. Topics include the classification and birth prevalence of oral clefts; dental rehabilitation of cleft lip and palate in the different stages of life; effects of presurgical infant orthopaedics in patients with cleft lip and palate; paediatric dental and orthodontic care as part of the multidisciplinary treatment required in cleft lip and palate in affected infants to adults; prenatal detection of cleft lip by bi-dimensional ultrasound; characterising velopharyngeal closure insufficiency under various oral pressure conditions in cleft palate; and speech outcomes in unilateral complete cleft lip and palate patients.