Feeding a neonate baby with a complete cleft lip and palate is a problematic pursuit because of the communication between the oral and the nasal cavity and associated problems. This present case is of a 6-day-old underweight neonate with feeding difficulties due to the cleft palate. In this case report, simple, uncomplicated steps for the fabrication of a feeding obturator are explained to aid in the proper nourishment of neonates for definite corrective procedures in the future with overall growth.

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.

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the most common craniofacial anomaly affecting newborns. In the early years of life to survive baby requires nutrition from the mother. Lip seal of infant is affected because of cleft palate and thereby feeding is greatly compromised. As there is communication between nasal cavity and oral cavity there are more chances of aspiration of milk into the lungs. The main role of pedodontist is to fabricate a palatal obturator which facilitates feeding. In this article we have discussed fabrication of feeding obturator in single visit in infants with cleft palate.
UNASSIGNED: Tirupathi SP, Ragulakollu R, Reddy V. Single-visit Feeding Obturator Fabrication in Infants with Cleft Lip and Palate: A Case Series and Narrative Review of Literature. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):186-191.

The most imminent issue to be addressed in a child born with cleft lip and/or palate is restoration of normal feeding. Early surgical treatment for cleft repair is crucial but may need to be postponed until certain age and weight gain is attained in an infant. When other feeding interventions fail in these children, prosthetic obturation of the defect with feeding instructions in the interim period is indicated to ward off the prevailing concerns. However, the entire prosthetic management presents a significant challenge with respect to the child\'s age, scope of iatrogenic injury to the delicate oral tissues, and potential for life-threatening situation during the procedures. This article draws attention toward preemptive measures which should be undertaken in the clinical setting during the fabrication of obturator to ascertain a desirable outcome without experiencing a grave complication that may arise due to ignorance and/or lack of facilities.

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common craniofacial anomalies of humans. Intraoral impression making is the first clinical step in the fabrication of feeding appliance for infants with oro-nasal communication. It is difficult to control the flow of the impression material in the cleft area and undercuts in a child patient. This clinical report presents a simple and safe impression technique for maxillary impression making in neonates and infants with cleft palate. A gauze piece was used to confine the impression material during functional movements of sucking while impression making in an awake child to avoid the risk of aspiration or swallowing.

Cleft lip and palate is a congenital anomaly occurring at birth. This article describes about the construction of feeding plate which is also used for naso alveolar molding (NAM). The main objective of this treatment is that this procedure minimizes the extent of surgery that should be done on newborns. Two infants with unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate are treated by making feeding plate and which is also used for NAM. Both the infants had favorable results, better in case of unilateral cleft lip patient; we hope that it will minimize the extent of surgery and the resultant scarring.

This article on the dental management of a neonate with Pierre Robin sequence describes the clinical and laboratory procedures for construction of a feeding plate due to the presence of a cleft palate. Emphasis has also been laid on a few literatures to describe medical complications associated with this condition. A 56-day-old neonate had been referred to the outpatient department with the complaint of difficulty in feeding, description, and management of which has been described in the case report.