Your child had surgery to repair the cleft palate. The surgeon closed the opening in the roof of the mouth. The roof of the mouth is still healing and may have no feeling for a while. Because of this, your child could injure the area more easily. There are things you can do to protect it as your child heals.

What to expect after surgery:

• The stitches will dissolve over time, but you may be able to see them for a few weeks.
• You may notice open wounds on the roof of the mouth just inside the gums. These will heal on their own in about 3 weeks.
• A small amount of bleeding from the mouth or nose is normal for the first 2–3 days after surgery.

Pain:

• Some pain or discomfort in the mouth is normal after cleft palate repair. To treat the pain, follow the surgeon's recommendations for pain medicine.

Preventing injury inside the mouth:

• Your health care team gave you arm splints (called "no-nos"). Use these for 3 weeks to prevent your baby from getting a finger or any hard object into the mouth. Putting the arm splints on over long sleeves instead of on the skin may help prevent discomfort. 
• For the first few weeks after surgery, avoid hard toys, pacifiers, and other hard objects that your baby may put into the mouth.
• Give your child soft toys to play with while the palate heals.

Mouth Care:

• Your child shouldn't use a toothbrush for 3 weeks.
• Give your child water after eating to keep the mouth clean.
• When cleaning your child's teeth and gums, use a piece of gauze dipped in water. Wipe only the front of the teeth.

Feeding:

• If your baby is bottle-fed, keep using the same bottle to feed your baby that you used before the surgery.
• Keep your baby sitting upright while feeding.
• Make sure your baby gets enough liquids to make the same number of wet diapers as usual.
• If your baby eats solid foods, it is important that you only offer soft or puréed foods (up to stage 2 baby foods) for 3 weeks after surgery. This is when the roof of the mouth is still healing.
• You may feed your baby with a spoon, but don't let your baby handle the spoon or self-feed.

Follow-up:

• Schedule your baby's follow-up appointment for about 3 weeks after surgery. This appointment is important for the surgeon to check on the healing process.

Your child:

• has increased redness, swelling, or leaking of fluid around the stitches
• has yellow or white bumps around the surgical site
• has pain that becomes severe and doesn't get better with pain medicine
• is vomiting and can't keep liquids down
• starts bleeding from the wound
• has new openings or gaps around the wound
• gets a fever over 101°F (38.3°C)

Your child:

• has trouble drinking
• appears dehydrated; signs include dizziness, drowsiness, dry or sticky mouth, sunken eyes, crying with few or no tears, or peeing less often (or having fewer wet diapers)

Will my child have a scar from the surgery? Yes, when the wound heals, there will be a small scar on the roof of the mouth. The scar usually gets better with time. Your child may still have a gap in the gum area. If needed, your child can have another surgery when he or she is older to help close the gap in the gums.

Will my child have trouble sleeping? Yes, your child may snore and have cold symptoms for a few weeks. These symptoms can make it harder for your child to sleep. Your child's sleep will get back to normal in a few weeks.

What does my child's cleft team do after surgery? Some kids with cleft palate may have dental, speech, and/or hearing problems when they get older. Your child's cleft team includes many different specialists to help with these issues. It is important to see the cleft team at least once a year, even if your child is doing well.