Start practicing

Pediatric Dentistry · single question

A 3-year-old patient with a cleft palate presents to the dental office. Which intervention is NOT part of the appropriate treatment plan?

  1. Monitor speech and language development
  2. Perform surgical correction at birth immediately
  3. Plan for prosthetic obturator if needed
  4. Refer for multidisciplinary team evaluation
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. Perform surgical correction at birth immediately

  • A. Speech and language monitoring is essential for cleft palate patients.
  • B. Correct. Surgical correction of cleft palate is NOT performed at birth — it is typically scheduled at 9-18 months of age. Performing surgery immediately at birth is NOT a course of action and would be harmful to the infant.
  • C. Prosthetic obturators may be used to aid feeding and speech before surgical correction.
  • D. Multidisciplinary team evaluation (including plastic surgery, speech pathology, orthodontics) is a standard part of cleft palate management.

Practice Pediatric Dentistry questions Pediatric Dentistry study notes

More Pediatric Dentistry practice questions