Cleft Palate? See A Prosthodontist!

A cleft palate presents itself in a number of different ways.  Mindy had a cleft palate, with no bone and no tooth in her upper left lateral incisor location.  The adjacent teeth had shifted towards the defect, even after orthodontic therapy.  Without bone for an implant, and knowing that surgical reconstruction of the defect with a bone graft wasn't a sure thing, she chose to have a fixed bridge to replace the missing tooth and straighten her front teeth.  You can see how it worked out.


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Smoking During Pregnancy and Cleft Lip/Palate Risk

The Surgeon General has released data from 50 years of tobacco-related study, from 1964-2014.  More than 7,000 babies are born yearly in the United States with cleft lip or cleft palate.  Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk by 30 to 50%.  Since approximately 23% of American women smoke during pregnancy, the exposure to the toxic chemical in smoke reduces the amount of oxygen the baby gets, affecting growth and development.


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309