Oral Habits in Children With Orofacial Clefts: A Comparative Study

Parental Stress, Infant Feeding and Well-being in Families Affected by Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate: The Impact of Early Follow-up

OBJECTIVE

To document the impact of early follow-up by specialized cleft nurses (SCNs) provided to families affected by cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) and the status of parental stress, infant feeding and well-being.

DESIGN

Prospective inclusion of a control group, which only received standard care, followed by an intervention group that also received early SCN follow-up.

SETTING

The cleft lip and palate team at Oslo University Hospital, Norway.

PARTICIPANTS

Seventy families (69 mothers and 57 fathers) distributed into an intervention group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 38).

INTERVENTION

SCNs provided a consultation at the maternity ward and a follow-up conversation by phone or face-to-face at scheduled times for six months.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Parental Stress Index (PSI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), feeding questionnaire, survey of infant diets, weight percentiles.

RESULTS

The mothers reported higher stress scores than the fathers, but in the control group only in the PSI parent domain at T2 and T3 (P = .007, P = .018). Infants in the intervention group used pacifiers less frequently than in the control group (55.2% vs. 81.1%, P = .023). Otherwise, no significant differences were found between the groups. Overall, the infants received less breast milk than norms.

CONCLUSION

Contextual strategies for early follow-up of families affected by clefts need to be developed, with an emphasis on involving fathers and those parents reporting elevated stress and/or feeding difficulties. There is a need for diagnosis-specific guidelines about the use of pacifiers as well as collaboration between the health professionals involved to increase breastmilk feeding.

Cleft Care in a Developing Country: An Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Patients/Parents of Children With an Orofacial Cleft to Orthodontic Treatment

OBJECTIVE

To assess the knowledge, awareness and attitude to orthodontic treatment of patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts, receiving comprehensive cleft care treatment.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

A major tertiary health care facility in Nigeria, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-araba, Lagos.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts receiving comprehnsive cleft care.

INTERVENTION

Patients and parents of children with orofacial clefts were asked to complete the survey. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used.

RESULTS

A total of 123 patients participated in the study, 55.3% (68) were females and 44.7% (55) were males. The majority (85.3%, 114) of patients were children aged between 0 and 5 years, while only 7.3% (9) were adults, aged 18 years and above. About one-third (41) of the respondents indicated that they felt "their teeth was not straight." Although 43.9% (54) reported that they knew that braces could be used to straighten teeth, only 13.8% of the respondents knew who an orthodontist was. Eighty percent (99) indicated that they would be willing to undergo treatment to straighten their teeth or their children/wards' teeth.

CONCLUSION

The majority of parents of children with clefts and adult patients attending the institution's cleft clinic had limited knowledge of orthodontics and the orthodontic care required for patients with clefts, although they had a positive attitude toward orthodontic treatment. These findings will guide the center in planning patient-centered orthodontic care for patients with clefts while also highlighting areas of importance for patient counseling and education in the orthodontic care for these patients.