Dr. Robert Carroll, Assistant Dean, Development, Continuing Dental Education and Alumni Relations, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto
Although congenital oral-facial deformities such as cleft lip and palate are not topics widely discussed in the popular media, they are a very significant and widespread problem with enormous health care and financial consequences.
There are 400 to 500 babies born each year in Canada with oral clefts, making it one of the most common congenital health issues. Globally a child is born every 2.5 minutes who will face the difficult consequences of an oral cleft. These consequences can include impediments to proper nutrition and respiration that make the child more susceptible to a range of other childhood illnesses particularly in developing countries where the prevalence of clefts is more common.
There was a time when children everywhere had to live their life with an untreated oral cleft. Fortunately in Canada, advances in surgical, orthodontic and prosthodontic treatment allows these structural defects to be corrected. This primary structural treatment has been supported by speech pathologists, audiologists, psychologists and social workers who deal with the other devastating consequences of this problem. But the cost of this is enormous. It is estimated that lifetime costs of treating the oral cleft and its side effects is in excess of 1 million dollars. In Canada this treatment is provided through our health care system supported by generous foundations that allows for this treatment to be provided to most who need it. Unfortunately, in developing countries and even in developed countries without good public health care systems, many children must still live with an untreated cleft.
Interesting research is being carried out at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry in various aspects of oral clefts. One of those exciting research activities is being carried out by Dr. Siew-Ging Gong. Dr. Gong’sresearch hopes to identify the genetic defects that are instrumental in disrupting the normal development of the oral-facial structure and that lead to the formation of the cleft. If the genetic link can be identified it is possible that improved diagnosis and treatment in-utero could be developed to prevent this problem from occurring in the first place. To date, Dr. Gong’s research has been very encouraging and gives rise to optimism that such preventive treatment may be possible in the future. Just imagine the health and financial benefits of preventing this problem.
Each year the Faculty of Dentistry holds an event to honour alumni of distinction and individuals from the dental industry that have provided outstanding support to the Faculty and the profession. Proceeds from this event have been used to support the extensive research projects at the Faculty. This year the proceeds will be dedicated to research in the area of congenital oral-facial deformities. The theme of the event will be “yesterday they had to live with it — today we can treat it — tomorrow we can prevent it.” This is a fitting theme that not only recognizes the wonderful research that has brought the treatment of oral clefts to the standard it is today, but also recognizes the need to support research projects designed to make that extensive and difficult treatment unnecessary.
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