Missing Puzzle Pieces: Cleft Lip and Palate

Abstract

Facial differences can arise while a baby is still growing inside the mother. Two common examples include cleft lip and cleft palate. Most of the body’s cells contain DNA, which serves as the instructions for creating all the features of the body, such as the parts of the face. Cells use DNA’s instructions to form the face from five big “puzzle pieces” called prominences. Sometimes the DNA instructions get changed or steps are skipped, which can change how the puzzle pieces, or prominences, connect. This results in facial differences like cleft lip, in which there is a gap in the lip and cleft palate, in which there is a gap in the roof of the mouth. Most cases of cleft lip and cleft palate can be fixed with surgery, and children go on to live long, healthy lives.