National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month

July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month. U.S. CDC estimates that about 7,000 babies will be born with a cleft in the United States this year, a condition created when tissue in the baby’s upper lip or the roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy, leaving an opening in the roof of the mouth.

Clefts are usually repaired surgically in the first year of life, though many children require additional surgeries and treatments through adolescence to correct challenges to breathing, eating, or speech development. Individuals born with cleft lip or palate often need specialized dental or orthodontic care throughout their lives.

For more information, visit http://www.nccapm.org/ 

 

July is National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention Month

Cleft lip and/or palate is the second most common birth defect in the United States with between 20 and 30 infants born in Maine each year. The Maine Cleft Lip & Palate Program provides hospital and home visits to families who have infants born with the birth defect of a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. The program completes feeding assessments and supplies special bottle systems. The program provides information and referrals for services and medical/dental treatment until the age of 21. Care coordination, clinical team care through two monthly clinics at Eastern Maine Medical Center and Maine Medical Center, parent to parent support and outreach education are included in the program’s services.

For more information: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/cshn/cleftlip-palate/index.html