DESIGN: Saliva samples were collected after the morning meal by placing a sterile cotton swab in the vestibule of the oral cavity from cleft lip and palate patients immediately preoperative and 12 weeks postoperative. Normal children were examined as a control group. Samples were cultured; Staphylococcus and Streptococcus isolates were identified and quantified.

PATIENTS: Fifteen cleft lip and palate patients and 22 normal children, aged 3 to 39 months were examined.

RESULTS: Streptococcus mitis biovar 1, Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus oralis of the viridans group of streptococci were the most commonly found in normal children, as well as in cleft lip and palate children. In the cleft lip and palate group, mean streptococcal count was 32.41 (29.80) and 46.46 (42.80) in the pre- and postoperative periods, respectively; in the normal group, the count was 20.93 (27.93) and 49.92 (34.72) at 0 week and 12 weeks, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common Staphylococcus species found in CLP patients, representing 47.4% postoperatively. In the cleft lip and palate children, mean staphylococcal count was 5.34 (8.13) and 0.56 (0.92) in the pre- and postoperative periods, respectively; in normal children, the count was 0.82 (1.98) and 0.60 (2.55) at 0 and 12 weeks, respectively. The differences were statistically significant only for the staphylococcal count between pre- and postoperative periods in children with cleft lip and palate as tested by analysis of variance (p < .05).

DESIGN: Retrospective study.

SETTING: School of Dental Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

SUBJECTS: Eighty-four Bangladeshi children with nonsyndromic UCLP who received cheiloplasty and palatoplasty.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dental models were taken at 5 to 12 years of age (man: 7.69), and dental arch relationships were assessed using modified Huddart/Bodenham index (mHB) by two raters. Kappa statistics was used to evaluate the intra- and interexaminer agreements, chi-square was used to assess the associations, and logistic regression analysis was used to explore the responsible factors that affect DAR.

RESULTS: The total mHB score (mean [SD]) was -8.261 (7.115). Intra- and interagreement was very good. Using crude and stepwise backward regression analysis, significant association was found between positive history of class III (P = .025, P = .030, respectively) and unfavorable DAR. Complete UCLP (P = .003) was also significantly correlated with unfavorable DAR.

DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional multicenter study based on a study questionnaire was conducted of parents of patients with cleft lip and/or palate.

SETTING: Three centers providing cleft care from different regions in Malaysia: the national capital of Kuala Lumpur, east coast of peninsular Malaysia, and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

PARTICIPANTS: Parents/primary caregivers of patients with cleft lip and/or palate.

RESULTS: There were 295 respondents from different ethnic groups: Malays (58.3%), indigenous Sabah (30.5%), Chinese (7.1%), Indian (2.4%), and indigenous Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak (1.7%). Malay participants reported that attributing causes of cleft to God's will, superstitious beliefs that the child's father went fishing when the mother was pregnant or inheritance. Sabahans parents reported that clefts are caused by maternal antenatal trauma, fruit picking, or carpentry. The Chinese attribute clefts to cleaning house drains, sewing, or using scissors. Cultural background was reported by 98.3% of participants to pose no barrier in cleft treatment. Those from lower socioeconomic and educational backgrounds were more likely to encounter difficulties while receiving treatment, which included financial constraints and transportation barriers.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the speech and hearing status of Malay-speaking children with CLP residing in Kuala Lumpur.

METHODS: Parents whose children were between the age of 5 and 7 years were recruited via the Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Malaysia (CLAPAM) registry. Parents completed a survey and the children completed a speech and hearing assessment at the Audiology and Speech Sciences Clinic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

OUTCOMES: Speech measures include nasality rating, nasalance scores, articulation errors and speech intelligibility rating, while hearing measures include hearing thresholds and tympanometry results for each child.

RESULTS: Out of 118 registered members who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 21 agreed to participate in the study. The overall speech and hearing status of children in this sample were poor. Only four (19%) participants had normal speech intelligibility rating and normal hearing bilaterally. In terms of overall cleft management, only four (19%) participants were seen by a cleft team while seven (33%) had never had their hearing tested prior to this study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic searches of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were conducted. Independent reviewers screened the title, abstract and full texts according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles published in English from January 2012 to March 2022 reporting the QoL of non-syndromic young patients aged 7-18 years with CL/P were included. Review articles and articles reporting the psychological adjustment of parents or other family members with CL/P were excluded.

RESULTS: 975 publications were identified, of which 20 studies met our inclusion criteria. The majority of studies reported that the CL/P condition has a negative impact on the QoL. Psychological health, functional well-being, socialemotional well-being and school environment are domains that are affected. Compared with typically developing young patients, those with CL/P had lower QoL scores even though QoL was assessed using different instruments across studies. The impact of CL/P on overall QoL scores varied by age but not gender or cleft type.