[Treatment of cleft lip and palate in Finland]

In Finland about 120 babies are born with cleft lip and palate per year. The largest group is those with isolated cleft palate (60%) and only one fourth have complete cleft lip and palate. The clefts are closed under one year of age. Clefts affect appearance, occlusion and speech and the final outcome can only be assessed at the end of the growth. Centralisation of services and a multidisciplinary team approach has a bigger influence on the final outcome than different treatment protocols, the comparative advantages of which remain unproven. Good documentation is important to assess the level of treatment outcomes.