This group welcomes individuals and families who are dealing with issues of cleft lip and palate. We are not a medical group. We are a group of parents, friends and affected individuals sharing experiences as we travel along the same road of our respective journeys.

We are the official group of Wide Smiles. See our website at www.widesmiles.org

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This is a family site. Please keep all of your posts appropriate for a child to read (no swearing or using dirty language, please.) We'd like you to lable off-topic threads with "OT" or "Off Topic" so people will have the option of deleting messages not related to cleft. We are friendly people and will refrain from angry arguments, name calling, or in any other way, FLAMING on this list. Because this is a moderated list, we will not approve posts that can hurt other members, but we will warn the person who sends such a message. Please don't mention the names of specific doctors or clinics.

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A cleft lip and/or palate occurs in the fourth to the eighth week of gestation. It is often detected by ultrasound. A cleft occurs when, at a critical time of development, the obicularis muscle (lips) fails to close, or when the palate fails to fuse during gestation. A doctor will help those tissues to fuse through a series of surgeries. Certain therapies will ensure that those tissues work correctly. A baby with a cleft is still the wonderful, beautiful child you expected to have. He simply has a few more issues. While they are not easy issues, you can do it - one step at a time, and with the help and friendship of families you will meet here.

For information concerning cleft issues, go to our website, www.widesmiles.org


Cleft Talk list owner -- Joanne Green JoSmiles@aol.com

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