Two mothers share their journey of receiving cleft lip and/or palate care for their babies at Gillette Children's. July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month. Gillette has one of the largest craniofacial programs in the U.S. Both mothers appreciate the expertise care and support at Gillette. You can see by her smile that Heavenly Smith is delighted with the outcome. 

A simple tote bag from Gillette Children's is proving to be a powerful tool. The tote bag contains a collection of tools and educational materials to support parents of children who need cleft lip and/or palate repair. The carefully designed “Smile Bags” are a way for the Gillette craniofacial team to reach out to parents who might be feeling anxious and overwhelmed by their new baby’s diagnosis.

When a baby is born with a cleft lip and palate, the craniofacial experts at Gillette can offer guidance, reassurance and exceptional care. Learn more about cleft lip and palate repair.

Diagnosing velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) takes careful listening, testing, data collection and detective work. VPD is an umbrella term that describes multiple disorders that cause leakage of air into the nasal passages during speech production. Gillette Children's speech-language pathologist, Graham Schenck, PhD, has special training in VPD and is an expert in its detection.