Consultant Orthodontic Services for Cleft Patients in England and Wales

Abstract

A postal questionnaire survey of consultant orthodontists in England and Wales was undertaken as part of a national audit of the care of children horn with cleft lip/and or cleft palate. A 100% response rate was achieved. The majority of respondents stated that they provide orthodontic treatment for cleft patients hut only 78% of these attend multi-disciplinary cleft clinics. Consultant orthodontists provide treatment not only in the form of appliances for patients born with clefts hut are also involved in the counseling of parents and coordination of regional data bases. Only 24% of hospital orthodontists are involved in the provision of presurgical appliances for cleft babies on a regular basis. The lack of rationalisation of orthodontic services and a low uptake of standardised record keeping protocols for cleft patients by consultant orthodontists gives cause for concern.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Asher-McDade

and Shaw

W. C.

(1990) Current Cleft Lip and Palate Management in the United Kingdom British Journal of Plastic Surgery, 43, 318–321.

Brantley

and Clifford

(1979) Maternal and Child Locus of Control and Field-Dependence in Cleft Palate Children. Cleft Palate Journal, 16, 183–187.

Devlin

H. B.

(1990) Audit and the quality of care. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (supplement) 1990, 73, 3–11.

Lee

S. T.

(1993) The recommendations of the International Committee on Cleft Documentation and Measurements, The International Congress on Cleft Palate and Related Craniofacial Anomalies. 1993. Abstract 539.

Luther

and Cook

P. A.

(1994) The Development of a Regional Cleft Lip and Palate Database—a preliminary report. British Journal of Orthodontics, 21, 291–295.

McWilliams

B. J.

(1982) Social and Psychological Problems Associated with a Cleft Palate, Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 9, 317–326.

Morriss

H. L.

, Jakobi

, and Harrington

(1978) Objectives and Crimeria for the Management of Cleft lip and Palate and the Delivery of Management Services, Cleft Palate Journal, 15, 1–5.

Mouatt

(1994) Training for Dental Specialists in the Future, the report of the Working Group on Specialist Dental Training Department of Health, Health Publications Unit, Heywood, England. January 1994.

O.P.C.S. (1993) Congenital malformations statistics notification (1991), London: H.M.S.O. 1993.

10.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England (1995) Recommendations for Minimum Standards for the care of Children with clefts of the Lip and/or Palate (unpublished draft).

11.

Scheuerle

, Olsen

, Guilford

A. M.

, Redding

and Mahal

M. B.

(1984) A Survey of Nursing Care for Parents and Infants with Cleft lip and Palate, Cleft Palate Journal, 21, 110–114.

12.

Semb

and Shaw

W. C.

(1994) Facial Growth in Clefting Disorders, Facial Clefts and Craniosynoslosis: Principles and Management edited by Turvey

I. A.

, Dryland Vig

K. W. L

and Fonesean

R.J.

W.B. Sanders Co., Philadelphia. In press.

13.

Shaw

W. C.

, Bannister

R. P.

and Roberts

C. T.

(1993) A Random Trial of Feeding Methods, The International Congress on Cleft Palate and Related Cranio facial Anomalies. 1993. Abstract 119.

14.

Sprieslersbach

D. C.

(1973) ‘Psychological aspects of the cleft palate problem’. lowa City. Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1973.

15.

Strauss

R. p.

and Broder

(1991) Directions and issues in psychosocial research and methods as applied to cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies, Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 28, 150–156.

16.

Turner

M. M.

and Milward

T. M.

(1988) A study to assess the elteetiveness of a professional and lay support service for parents of new born cleft babies. British Journal of Plastic Surgery, 41, 614–1618.

17.

Williams

A. C.

, Shaw

W. C.

, and Devlin

H. B.

(1994) Provision of Services for Cleft lip and Palate in England and Wales, British Medical Journal 1994; 309: 1552.