Cleft lip and cleft palate patients (CLP) are those who are born with defects of the lip and/or palate. They suffer from the first day they are born. The mother will have problems with either breast or bottle-feeding, as the cleft will allow the fluid or food to go into nasal cavity. As they grow, these affected children also have problems with chewing,
speaking, hearing, and breathing through the nose. They can also have difficulties in being accepted into the community because of their facial appearances. The majority of these children belong to poor families.
Dentists and orthodontists have direct responsibilities to help and care for these patients, together with other clinicians and personnel such as plastic surgeon, neonatal nurse, oral surgeon, dental technician,
audiologist, radiologist, and social worker or clinical psychologist. The Complete Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Patient’s Live Project has been set up by the Thai Orthodontic Foundation to help CLP people, and
enable them to be able to live a normal live with the following objectives: -to recruit dentists and orthodontists who are interested to help CLP -to work on this field -to train dentists and orthodontists to give primary care, secondary care and tertiary care to CLP
-to train dentists and orthodontists to learn to work in a team with other health care personnel -to give some financial support to CLP care. For more information, please contact: Thai Orthodontic Foundation, or Thai Association of Orthodontists
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