FAQ

Some frequently asked questions...
Teeth. What will happen with Azlan's top teeth? Will he get them? Will they pull them? Where will they come in?

Azlan does have a cleft in his upper gum as well as his lip and palate. Its a little wider than the cleft in his lip was. Yes he will get teeth. When he was being formed all the teeth sacs were likely there...as the mouth did not come full together these teeth sacs were obviously not in their proper places. Sometimes they are just missing but the orthadontist said its more common and more likely that they ARE there...just 'where' is the question. They can grow in at the side of the cleft of the gum. They often grow on the roof of the mouth. Sometimes they are with other teeth not affected by the cleft, therefore crowding them.

Will they pull them? Not usually. The Dr. said the pro's outweigh the con's for keeping them if they can. He said they sometimes pull the ones on the roof of the mouth b/c they hurt their little tongue...if they do not hurt or cause any discomfort, then they keep them b/c as a tooth forms, bone grows around it. He said the more bone development they get especially on his palate...the better. They don't typically pull them if they grow in awkwardly in the cleft of the gum either...once again, not unless they are causing discomfort. Now you know why a child with a cleft (yes a repaired cleft) smiles without showing their teeth often. Its because they often have a large gap in the gumline and awkwardly placed teeth.

Azlan's hearing. Yes they did do an invasive test while he was in surgery...he came out with 2 bloody ears to add to his discomfort. They did determine that YES he does have an ear drum in the right ear. He seems to have all the 'parts' in that ear but they do know he has a very tiny ear canal. They do NOT know if he can hear in that ear. The ENT doc said he may need surgery down the road to widen the ear canal...we'll see as time goes on. They drained fluid from behind both ear drums while they were in there...which they said is simply due to an open palate...the ears can't drain properly. She said the negative of that is the fluid would probably be built back up again in a few days. It so far hasn't caused any problems (ear infections) besides some temporary hearing loss in both ears. They said they don't like to put tubes in the ears until the palate is operated on b/c with an open palate the fluid builds up so quick that you'd be constantly draining the tubes.

The outside of Azlan's right ear. The doctor did call it "deformed". It looks very different from his left ear and she thought it was much smaller. She measured both ears and said they are about the same but the right ear is tilted at about 25degree angle causing it to look much smaller. What will they do about it? Nothing. He just has a special ear thats a little different.

:)