Dental Care for a Child with Cleft Lip and Palate
A cleft of the gum, lip and / or palate in the front of the mouth can cause a variety of dental problems. These problems include the number, size, shape, and position of the primary teeth (baby) and permanent (adult). The most commonly affected teeth because of cleft are those who stay near the slit.
How does a teeth cleft lip or palate?
A cleft of the gum, lip and / or palate in the front of the mouth can cause a variety of dental problems. These problems include the number, size, shape, and position of the primary teeth (baby) and permanent (adult). The most commonly affected teeth because of cleft are those who stay near the slit.
What does this mean for dental care in the future?
A child with a cleft lip or palate need the same routine care than children without clefts. However, many children with clefts have other problems related to teeth. The teeth may have incorrectly or the wrong position or even be completely absent that require evaluation by a dentist who is familiar with the needs of a child with a cleft.
Dental Care During the Early Years
With proper care, children born with a cleft lip and / or palate can have healthy teeth. This requires that you brush your teeth your child has good nutrition and use of fluoride treatments. You should start brushing their teeth with a small brush with soft bristles as first tooth erupts. Many dentists recommend first dental visit when the child reaches their first birthday or earlier if there are special dental problems. In general, specialists in cleft lips or cleft palates are the first evaluation of the teeth. Routine visits to the local dentist begin when the child turns three years old. Treating doctors recommend it depends on many factors. Some children only need preventive care, while others need fillings or a tooth pulled.
When we have to visit the dentist?
Program is the first dental visit before your child has teeth. The purpose of this visit is to evaluate the growth of the face, especially the growth of the jaw. After they start getting teeth, your dentist will make plans for the future dental care in the short and long term. For example, if teeth above and those below do not come together well, the dentist may suggest a treatment to fix the relationship between jaw above and the one below. It is not uncommon that takes a long time after treatment that the dentist can re-evaluate the facial growth and tooth development. When they have left permanent teeth, the last phase of treatment is to put teeth into their correct positions.
Dental Care / Surgical Coordinated
Coordination of treatment between the surgeon and the dental specialist is important because there are many procedures that the two can do together during anesthesia. Can remove or fix the teeth at the same time.
The coordination between the surgeon and the dentist is the most important for the treatment of bone defect in the jaw above that may result from a slit. By means of a bone graft, doctors can fix the defect of the cleft.
During adolescence, the dentist and the surgeon will work again, if the teeth are not together either because jaws were out of their normal positions. If you can not put teeth into their correct positions with dental care only, will be combined with surgical techniques in dentistry. Such surgery is scheduled when the child has finished puberty.
How I can get the best care for my child?
Children with cleft lip and / or palate require the coordinated services of different specialists. For this reason, many parents seek medical care for your child at the center of cleft palate or craniofacial. This center provides assessment, treatment planning and care given by a group of specialists who provide a variety of disciplines related to medical, dental and other health specialties. Although there is no such center in your area, worth going to another city to that his child receives care doctor necessary that your child needs.
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