Welcome To Wide Smiles

The Problems Of A Cleft Lip

Although a cleft lip can be a common occurrence in new born babies it is vital to seek treatment as soon as possible as leaving a cleft lip can hinder the child’s development later on in life. The general procedure for treating a cleft lip is surgery. Generally the surgery is routine although more complex conditions of cleft lip and cleft palate may take several surgeries to correct. Below are some of the difficulties a child with a cleft lip may face during development.

Eating
Babies with cleft lips may find it more difficult to feed due to the split or separation in the lip. There are specially designed baby bottles and nipples that encourage a child to feed properly and allows them to keep the intake of food directed into their stomach.

Speech Problems
Unless a cleft lip is treated before the child reaches the age of oral communication you may find your child struggles with speech. A cleft lip prevents children from being able to pronounce certain sounds correctly. This can result in a lisp, nasal tone when speaking and other factors that may make it difficult to understand your child’s speech. Surgery fixes many of these problems but otherwise it can be a good idea to hire a speech therapist to work with your child when they are a little older.

Hearing Problems
As the mouth, the nose and the ears are all connected children suffering from a cleft lip are more prone to ear infections and fluid build ups which can in turn, lead to hearing problems. Hearing problems also go hand in hand with speech problems which is why your child may have difficulty communicating and pronouncing sounds correctly. Usually a child who has suffered or is suffering from a cleft lip will need regular hearing checkups and possibly fluid draining from the ears.