Anatomy & physiology of the oral, Nasal, and laryngeal cavities
The anatomy of the oral, nasal, and laryngeal cavity consists of a door, slide, and drawbridges. When eating, the first door to open is the mouth allowing the food to enter the cave. The teeth grind, stomp, and crush the edibles into pieces. Saliva secrets and the tongue maneuvers the bolus against the inside of the teeth and roof of the mouth in preparation of the swallow.
Once mastication is done, the bolus is ready to be swallowed. The drawbridges come into play as the soft palate rises to close off the nasopharynx and the epiglottis drops down over the laryngeal opening due to the rising of the larynx. The purpose for the drawbridges is to prevent food from entering into the airway.
Looking at the image above, you can see how the hard and soft palate function as a barrier between the nasal and oral cavity. Imagine the difficulties if this wall had a giant hole through it. This is the case for infants with cleft palate.
Having an open palate can cause many difficulties for an individual. Several complications include:
Hearing Impairment
Children with cleft palate may experience temporary hearing loss due to a build up of fluid in the middle ear (known as otitis media) and/or other ear infections.
Dental Issues
In utero, if the palate has not closed there is a chance that the child also may have not formed normal dental structure.
Hearing Impairment
Children with cleft palate may experience temporary hearing loss due to a build up of fluid in the middle ear (known as otitis media) and/or other ear infections.
Dental Issues
In utero, if the palate has not closed there is a chance that the child also may have not formed normal dental structure.
Speech and Language Difficulties
Speech and language issues may occur relating to the previous complications. For instance, children with inadequate dental structure may produce sounds distortedly. Hearing loss will delay the language learning process for an infant. Otherwise, only three phonemes require an open palate (/m/ /n/ /ng/). A sealed palate is required for pressure build up, tactile resistance, oral airflow, and to prevent nasality of the other 39 phonemes.
Feeding Challenges
Without adequate closure of the palate, the oral phase of feeding becomes disrupted. There is no wall for the tongue to create the bolus against. Most importantly the majority, (if not all) food ingested is going into the airway.
Self Esteem Issues
It can be embarrassing to have a speech impediment, choke on food, have deviante teeth, or miss auditory information during a conversation. Even if the child’s parents choose to have corrective surgery, scaring may cause embarrassment as well. Children with cleft palate can learn strategies to cope with these emotional issues.
Speech and language issues may occur relating to the previous complications. For instance, children with inadequate dental structure may produce sounds distortedly. Hearing loss will delay the language learning process for an infant. Otherwise, only three phonemes require an open palate (/m/ /n/ /ng/). A sealed palate is required for pressure build up, tactile resistance, oral airflow, and to prevent nasality of the other 39 phonemes.
Feeding Challenges
Without adequate closure of the palate, the oral phase of feeding becomes disrupted. There is no wall for the tongue to create the bolus against. Most importantly the majority, (if not all) food ingested is going into the airway.
Self Esteem Issues
It can be embarrassing to have a speech impediment, choke on food, have deviante teeth, or miss auditory information during a conversation. Even if the child’s parents choose to have corrective surgery, scaring may cause embarrassment as well. Children with cleft palate can learn strategies to cope with these emotional issues.