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| Cleft of the lip |
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| Repaired cleft lip |
If you have a child or
neighbour with this congenital deformity, kindly inform them of free cleft
repair courtesy of Smile Train, an organization based in New York City, USA.
It’s the world’s largest cleft charity with a mission of empowering local medical
teams to provide free, safe surgery for poor patients with cleft lip and/or
palate. If you are in Nigeria contact us for details: insidedental@gmail.com
Cleft of the lip, palate
or both is a congenital anomaly of the face and oral tissues.
It is seen in children at
birth and associated with a lot of challenges which includes feeding, speech,
esthetics, susceptibility to infection, hearing loss, psychological and dental
anomalies.
Certain societal believe
can be cruel to the child. Hence this wakeup call to parents and relations of
baby born with this defect. It is not the work of the devil neither is the baby
a devil. Its' only an abnormality that resulted during the process of formation
of the baby while in the womb.
Treatment is available,
please do not hide or kill the baby rather seek treatment.
Currently free surgical
operation is available in Nigeria courtesy of Smile train.
Causes of clefts
Genetics and
Environmental factors.
Genetics
Familiar tendency exists
in the developments of orofacial cleft, when an individual has a cleft there is
tendency for another person in the same family to develop cleft, however
susceptibility varies with degree of kinship.
Environmental
factors that predisposes to clefts include:
1.
Advanced age of mother or both parents.
2. Maternal
life style and illnesses are associated with clefts
a .Drugs taking by mother
e.g. Talidomide, Carbamazepine, phenytoin, amphetamine
b. Nutritional deficiency e.
g. Folic acid deficiency
c. Infection during
pregnancy e.g syphilis, Rubella
d.
Obesity
e.
Habits e.g smoking
f.
Irradiation during the first trimester
3. Low
socioeconomic status
Management
Surgical repair by the oral and
maxillofacial or plastic surgeons coupled with efforts from other medical
disciplines for a comprehensive treatment.
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