Cleft Palate: Dental Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department collects data on (a) dental access and (b) treatment outcomes for people born with a cleft lip and/or palate.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Data is not held centrally on dental access and treatment outcomes for people born with a cleft. We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.
NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. A copy of the Cleft Lip and/or Palate Services including Non-Cleft Velopharyngeal Dysfunction (VPD) (All Ages) Service Specification is attached.
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