Caring for Mateo's Teeth and Bite
Take the reading one piece at a time. For each piece: read it once, underline the sentence that says what happens, then look up any word in the list. Tap a word to see its definition.
Piece 1 of 2
Look at where Mateo's cleft passes. A complete cleft lip and palate runs through the alveolus, the curved ridge of bone in the upper jaw that holds the teeth. The tooth that normally sits right at that spot is the upper lateral incisor, the tooth just beside the two front teeth. So the cleft does not just split lip and palate; it also splits the exact piece of bone where certain teeth are supposed to form and anchor.
Piece 2 of 2
From the cleft clinical literature, reported dental findings near the cleft include: missing teeth, often the lateral incisor (hypodontia), a tooth that should be there never forms; extra teeth (supernumerary); a peg-shaped or very small (microdont) lateral incisor; enamel hypoplasia, thin or poorly formed enamel; ectopic eruption, crooked teeth, and malocclusion, where upper and lower teeth do not meet correctly; and maxillary (upper-jaw) hypoplasia, where the upper jaw grows less and affects the bite over time. These are common because the cleft disturbs the very ridge where the teeth and bone develop. Dental care is staged: a key step around ages 7 to 11 is alveolar bone grafting, placing bone into the alveolar gap so a permanent tooth can erupt into and anchor in that spot.
Reading the Research
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Now put it together: In one or two sentences, say what this whole reading is telling you about Mateo. Then go back to the lesson and fill in the guided notes.