3D printed obturators - An innovative journey

The children suffering from cleft palate undergo physical and psychological trauma of a basic life function of feeding until the surgeon deems it suitable for corrective surgery. It is highly discouraging for the parents to face the ordeal being suffered by the child. Over the years, several modalities have been developed in the form of techniques and products to improve the feeding experience of the child. However, all of these products come with a certain set of problems including the difficulty of fabrication, cost, availability, etc. This article covers the journey of the D-cleft from the clinical trials of various designs and prototypes and improvement of the disadvantages of these finally leading to a device, which is easy to use, flexible, biocompatible, affordable, and customisable.