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Types of Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate

Cleft lip and cleft palate are two forms of birth defects affecting the structures of the face and/or mouth. Each of these defects comes in varying types or degrees of severity.

  1. Facts

    • The term "cleft" refers to the incomplete closing of a given structure during body development, according to the March of Dimes Foundation. Clefts may affect the lip or palate separately, or appear in both structures simultaneously.

    Types

    • Cleft lips vary in severity, from small notches in the upper lip to gaps that extend from the lip all the way to the bottom of the nose, notes the March of Dimes Foundation. In some cases, they also involve the structures of the upper gum.

    Double Clefts

    • Cleft lip defects may appear on one side of the upper lip or on both sides, reports the March of Dimes Foundation.

    Cleft Palate Types

    • Cleft palate defects may affect either the soft palate at the back of the mouth, or continue forward to include the hard palate at the front of the mouth, notes the March of Dimes Foundation. As with cleft lips, the defect may affect one or both sides of the mouth.

    Considerations

    • The Mayo Clinic reports that some soft palate clefts may not be detected until later in life.

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