Cleft lip and palate

Children with a cleft lip and/or palate require regular consultations with the cleft and cranio-facial multi-disciplinary team in the first few years of life to monitor and optimise speech development, hearing, and general health.

Audiologists perform audiograms annually, increasing the frequency of consultations as active treatment is initiated, to monitor for possible syndrome-related hearing loss and Eustachian tube dysfunction secondary to a cleft palate. Speech and language pathologists monitor the child for velopharyngeal dysfunction after palatal repair and throughout development, and ongoing paediatric dental care is encouraged even before the initial orthodontic evaluation.