OBJECTIVE: Functional aspects of oral health of children with cleft lip and/or palate interfere in their possibility of being naturally fed, as well as in their growth and development. This review aimed to verify the influence of breastfeeding on orofacial development of children with cleft lip and/or palate. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained by literature search (2000-2010) of Medline and SciELO databases, using as key-words "cleft lip", "cleft palate", "breast feeding", "complementary feeding" and "oral hygiene". Information was grouped in order to establish the relationship between natural breastfeeding and complementary feeding with orofacial development and oral health status. DATA SYNTHESIS: Initial search retrieved 27,046 articles and in 26,793 of them, the subject was breastfeeding and complementary feeding. Among those, there were 119 about the influence of breastfeeding on orofacial development and 134 about the relationship between breastfeeding and oral health status; 34 articles were selected and in 20 children with cleft lip and/or palate were enrolled. CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding in children with cleft lip and/or palate is a decisive factor not only for correct craniofacial maturation and growth at bone, muscular and functional levels, but also for the prevention of oral problems. These children present higher prevalence of dental caries, periodontal diseases, as well as occlusion related problems.
cleft lip; cleft palate; breast feeding; bottle feeding; oral hygiene
