Rehabiliatation of Cleft lip and Palate

As pedodontist the management of children with cleft lip and palate presents many challenges. Our involvement with these children and their families often begins before birth and can extend into late adulthood. Affected individuals present a multiplicity of problems and effective management involves a wide range of specialists. The currently accepted model for delivery of this care is the multidisciplinary team. This approach can be both empowering for families and efficient in terms of time for families and services. Some concerns families present with cannot be adequately addressed by lower level psychological approaches and may require a psychologist working alongside another team member to inform their practice, or a referral to the clinical psychologist for individual, group or family work. However, the long term psychological management of a child with a cleft lip and or palate continues to be important at all levels of the service wherein pediatric dentist plays an very important role. This book gives an overview of the pediatric dentist approach in management of children with cleft lip and palate.