Cleft Palate

Symptoms

The symptoms of cleft palate vary depending on the location of the cleft and whether other facial defects are present. Babies born with cleft palate often have feeding difficulties, because the condition interferes with normal sucking and swallowing. If your baby also has cleft lip, it may be obvious at birth. Even if the defect does not affect facial appearance, it is usually easily seen inside the mouth.

The following table illustrates the common symptoms related to cleft location.

Common symptoms related to cleft location

Location of cleft	Common symptom
Hard and soft palate	Facial defect
Soft palate	Liquids leak from nose
Hard palate	Weak suck, difficulty swallowing, gagging, choking

See a picture comparing a normal mouth and two types of cleft palate.

Children with cleft palate may also have large tonsils and adenoids. Most health professionals agree that these structures should not be removed. They may help children with cleft palate to speak more clearly by allowing higher pressure to build up in their mouths during speech.

Certain health and social problems, especially speech, hearing, and dental problems, are more common in children born with cleft palate.

Cleft palate is sometimes a symptom of another health condition, such as fetal alcohol syndrome. For this reason, it is important for children with cleft palate to be evaluated for other conditions beginning at birth, especially if other symptoms are present, such as other facial deformities or learning disabilities.

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Author:	Debby Golonka, MPH	Last Updated: February 4, 2008
Medical Review:	Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics Arden Christen, DDS, MSD, MA, FACD - Dentistry
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