Our son was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) and has been in speech therapy since he was 18 months of age. I value private speech therapy and we are faithful in keeping our weekly appointments, incorporating speech techniques at home to gain consistency and working on a great deal of repetition. It’s just that at this point we have now added orthodontic appointments to our ‘have to’ weekly list and he has a palatal expander and…
Our little guy had his 6 month dental check up with our favorite dentist, Dr. Frank Enriquez! He got to put the purple tablet in his mouth that dauntingly showed where it is that he needs to be brushing better…shudder… As his mom, I know the purple tablet is “judging” me and letting everyone in the dental office know that we are not enforcing the flossing like we should be and we are not being as diligent about making him…
As a mom it can sometimes be difficult to watch your cleft kiddo realize that he is different. Entering the second grade his friends, classmates and teammates are all sporting toothless grins reminiscent of a jack o’lantern and yet, he is not. At this point he realizes that he is not going to meet this typical milestone. I can’t help but feel a pang in my own heart as I, too, will not get to be a witness sharing in…
