Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip

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Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip
Authored By: Allison DiMatteo
Reviewed By: Cynthia L. Koudela, DDS, MSD
Yourdentistryguide.com

In the United States, an estimated one in 700 babies each year — and possibly as many as one in 500 — are born with one or both of the birth defects known as cleft palate and cleft lip. Meaning “split” or “opening,” clefts are among the most common major birth defects.

Cleft lip and the combination of cleft lip and cleft palate occur twice as often in males as in females, while cleft palate alone occurs more often in females. Clefts occur most often in children of Asian, Latino or Native American descent. These deformities are known to occur less frequently in African Americans.

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