Facial and oral defects or malformations(cleft lip and cleft palate) are parts of the birth defects that occurs when a child is born
an facial defect ( cleft lip) is a physical split or separation of two sides of the upper lips that appears as narrow gap in the skin of the upper lip. cleft lip occurs as a result of failure of some tissues to join during the 2nd month of fetal development
cleft lip may be complete or incomplete. it can be termed as complete if the entire thickness of the lip is involved and incomplete is when only a portion of the lip is involved
a oral defect(cleft palate) its often associated with cleft lip, but may occur without it. its a split or opening in the top (roof) of the mouth. it involves the hard palate(the bony front portion of the roof of the mouth, it can be felt when one opens the mouth and tries to touch it) and/or the soft palate(the soft back portion of the roof of the mouth)
CAUSES OF THESE FACIAL DEFECTS
genetic factors- that is it can be inherited from parents
sex- males are more prone to develop these defects than females
environmental factors such as exposure of the fetus to alcohol, cigarrete smoking or drugs
maternal nutritional deficiencies- especially lack of folate intake
PROBLEMS THAT MAY ARISE DUE TO FACIAL AND ORAL DEFECTS
Failure to gain weight
feeding problems
flow of milk through the nasal passages during feeding
misaligned teeth
poor growth
recurrent ear infections
speech difficulties