A feeding aid prosthesis for a preterm baby with cleft lip and palate.

Cleft lip and palate is a common congenital defect of human being. If a child is born with congenital cleft palate defect, it is very painful to their parents. They are very much worried about the feeding of their baby. In this situation feeding aid prosthesis is the only treatment of choice. The feeding aid prosthesis helps not only feeding the baby but also help to develop proper articulation of speech. The article describes an advanced clinical and laboratory technique for the fabrication of a feeding aid prosthesis for new born baby. 9 infants who were suffering from congenital cleft lip and palate defect and a 9 month old baby with acquired palatal defect (acid-victim) were included in this study. All of them had treated with feeding aid prosthesis for feeding till palatoplasty was done. The feeding aid prosthesis was fabricated with acrylic resin and finally relined with soft lining materials. The impression of the palate was taken with heavy body silicon putty with the help of modeling wax custom tray. Data were collected before and after prosthesis on the basis of feeding time, amount of consumption of milk and growth pattern of the infants with their height and weight. Out of ten babies, 30% rejected the prostheses and 70% had accepted and used the prostheses until they were fit for palatoplasty. Growth of the babies was significantly improved who accepted the prosthesis than who rejected the prosthesis.