Objective: To determine the functional and morphological compensation of the lack of integrity in the upper part of the oral cavity in newborns with isolated cleft palate. Integrity of the upper part of the oral cavity is required for the effective pumping of amniotic fluid, the essential mode of nutrition in intrauterine life. The adaptation could be seen immediately after birth.
Materials: Plaster casts of the upper part of the oral cavity in 60 newborns with isolated cleft palate of various extent and plaster casts of the upper part of the oral cavity in 27 newborns without cleft were used. A number of surface points were identified and used for a trigonometric morphological analysis.
Results: The parameters of the upper part of the oral cavity in four groups of newborns with various extent of isolated cleft palate were compared with newborns without cleft palate. The results indicate a shift of the functional oral cavity into the nasal cavity and the pharynx, depending on the extent of the cleft.
Conclusion: The pumping activity of the tongue forms the upper part of the oral cavity and consequently the tongue moves into the nasal cavity and pharynx, depending on the extent of the cleft. In this way, effective pumping of amniotic fluid is possible despite the cleft. This is of vital importance for the fetus during intrauterine life. A poorly passable or even unpassable respiratory way is only of secondary importance during that time.