[The orthodontist and the child with a cleft palate]

Dealing with this type of malformation, the orthodontist is confronted with a three-level problem: inter-personal, social, and technical. Because families consider the birth of a cleft palate child to be a disaster, orthodontists who undertake their treatment should understand the genesis of the turbulence that families will have to endure. Most parents learn to deal with these difficulties, but the affected children are going to have to submit to the stares of those they encounter. Adolescence is a critical period for them and it is also the time when they will visit their orthodontist most frequently. Problems that accompany treatment of these patients are numerous and the treating orthodontists must point them out and explain them tactfully. The treating team must also establish a therapeutic alliance to envelop the cleft palate patients, ensuring maintenance of expert cooperation between specialists responsible for different aspects of their treatment.