Prevalence (Number of Cases) of Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Craniofacial defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common of all birth defects. They can occur as an isolated condition, or may be one component of an inherited disease or syndrome. The lifetime cost of treating the children born each year with cleft lip or cleft palate is estimated to be $697 million.

Table 1: Average prevalence of cleft lip and palate and number of births affected by these defects each year United States, 1999 to 2001

* Prevalence per 10,000 live births

Source: The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN). 1999 to 2001 cleft lip and palate data collected from 11 states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah), adjusted for race-specific distribution of US live births.