Cleft lip and palate

The cleft lip and palate service is the largest in the UK and the team provides treatment to an average of 150-170 new babies a year. 

The multidisciplinary team treats children from birth to 21 years as part of a complete package of care. We also see children with complex and multiple disorders associated with cleft lip and palate, and children with speech disorders due to other palatal dysfunction.

We run a special clinic for velocardiofacial syndrome (also known as 22q11 deletion and Di George syndrome).

Outcomes

The North Thames Centre has good dental arch growth outcome scores for patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate between 2000 and 2009 when compared with other UK centres. These scores are consistently higher than the national average (mean). 

All patients treated at GOSH who have completed their orthodontic treatment and been assessed at the end of their treatment period are categorised as showing great improvement in their orthodontic occlusion. 

One of the primary aims of cleft palate repair is to achieve normal speech by the time of school entry at age five. The North Thames Centre has significantly higher rates than the national average of 50% (71% in 2009)