Alaska Cleft Lip & Palate Program
Serving both Alaska Native and non-Native residents. As the state's sole endorsed cleft lip and palate team, we deliver comprehensive, coordinated assessments and life-transforming corrective surgeries.
Program Overview
Understanding cleft lip and palate conditions and team-based diagnostics
When part of the lip or roof of the mouth (palate) does not form properly early in pregnancy, it leaves a gap, or cleft. Clefting of the muscles at the back of the palate (the soft palate) affects speech and feeding, allowing food or liquid to pass between the throat and nose.
- • Partial/Incomplete: Limited to upper lip
- • Complete Cleft: Extends to base of nose
- • Unilateral: One side of lip
- • Bilateral: Both sides of lip
- • 60% are not linked to pregnancy events
- • Smoking double the incidence rates
- • Phenytoin (Dilantin) increases risk 10x
- • Alcohol and anti-seizure links
For Parents & Families
Surgical milestones and child guidance cycles
Your Child's Dental Home
Having a child with a cleft lip or palate can seem challenging at first. We schedule comprehensive evaluations **six times a year (about every two months)**. During these evaluations, you will meet with the entire multidisciplinary team to set a lifelong treatment plan.
Corrective Surgery Timeline
The exact course of action varies depending on individual severity:
4 - 6 Months: Primary Lip Repair
Corrective surgery to close the gap in the upper lip and reconstruct muscle fibers, aligning skin tissue and nearby facial features.
9 - 16 Months: Primary Palate Closure
Closes the opening in the roof of the mouth to keep food and liquid inside, creating muscular structures required for normal speech.
7 - 9 Years: Alveolar Bone Grafting
Working with the orthodontist, bone is placed into the cleft gum line to facilitate proper permanent tooth development.
16 - 22 Years: Orthognathic & Nose Revisions
Optional jaw alignment (maxillary advancement) and septorhinoplasty revision surgeries following maturity of skeletal facial growth.
Meet Our Cleft Specialists
Over 20 years of collaborative clinical experience in Alaska
Dr. Jeff Symonds
Performs alveolar bone grafting (ages 7-9) and orthognathic jaw advancements during teen years.
Dr. Allison Gallen
Monitors primary tooth eruption, guides jaw development, and establishes a safe dental home.
Dr. Julia Swayne
Leads initial primary lip repairs (4-6 months) and palate closures (9-16 months).
Laramee Hartman
A dedicated parent advocate who walks families step-by-step through surgery dates and clinical evaluations.
Charlene DiFilippo
Assesses soft palate muscular coordination to optimize speech articulation and swallowing.
For Medical Providers
We welcome referrals of all Alaskan children with cleft lip and palate diagnoses. Prenatal consultations are also offered for expectant mothers following an OBGYN prenatal diagnosis:
Referrals are processed immediately to allow the parent navigator to establish coordinates with the family before birth.
Some evaluations are scheduled across two full days to allow deep examinations by audiologists, plastic surgeons, pediatricians, and speech therapists.