Dental care in the cleft team

Oral health is one of the main problems in Cleft Lip and/or Palate (CL/P) patients. Dental caries is a major contributor to compromised oral health. As dental caries is the consequence of persistent dental plaque and a frequent intake of free sugars, it can be prevented or arrested by changing oral health behaviour in the form of tooth brushing with fluoride containing toothpaste and reducing the intake of sugary foods and drinks. However, caries prevention in children with CL/P poses unique challenges, and their risk of developing dental caries is significantly elevated.

The overall aim of the thesis is to improve dentistry related care for CL/P patients within the multidisciplinary cleft team setting. The thesis had two major objectives. Firstly, to optimize the use of the orodental related outcome measures of the value based cleft set. Secondly, to identify strategies for improving the dental care during cleft team consultation hours.