Congratulations to Dr. Joyce Chen on being elected Chairman,
Department of Plastic Surgery, Hoag Hospital Newport Beachand Hoag Hospital Irvine!

Cleft Lip and Palate

Alveolar Cleft Repair Newport Beach

Alveolar Cleft RepairA child with a complete cleft lip and palate also have a complete alveolar cleft, which is a gap in the gum line connecting the gap in the lip to the gap in the palate. In these children, both their baby and permanent teeth may grow abnormally in aberrant locations. In order for the permanent teeth to grow or erupt normally around the alveolar cleft, the gap needs to be filled with bone and covered with tissue. Bone can be harvested from the iliac crest of the hip bone. Alternatively, placing bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) into the alveolar cleft can induce bone to form in the cleft. The advantage of using BMP is that no donor site is needed, removing the morbidity associated with it.

Alveolar cleft repair with bone grafting or BMP is usually done when the canine tooth is partially or completely erupted.

Please contact us for more information about alveolar cleft repair with bone grafting or BMP or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Chen.