What is wrong with my daughter’s palate?

October 6, 2018 11:53 AM

I recently noticed that the roof of my daughter’s mouth looks strange, almost as if she has some sort of cleft palate? Picture in details.

My sister was watching my 10 month old daughter and commented on how the roof of her mouth Iooked weird. She had seen it when my daughter laughed. I had never noticed it before. I googled it and couldn’t find much information about it. Does anyone have a similar palate or know what her particular issue is? Everyone in my family has a smooth palate that looks nothing like hers. Pic link

posted by littlebuddhagirl3 to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Mod note: Hi littlebuddhagirl3, I edited the post to make the link work
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:16 PM on October 6, 2018

Don't know but mine's like this! I asked my partner who just has an arch with a line in the middle, while I have a pointed arch with a prominent rib at the join.
posted by lokta at 12:18 PM on October 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

It doesn't look that strange to me. It reminds me of once when I discovered weird bumps on the side of my tongue and the doctor examined it, shrugged, and offered this bit of medical wisdom: "The mouth is a really weird and bumpy place."

She said people come in all the time asking about weird mouth bumpiness. And apparently the answer is that the mouth is just a weird and bumpy place.
posted by selfmedicating at 12:29 PM on October 6, 2018 [18 favorites]

At your next ped appointment, bring it up.
posted by k8t at 12:33 PM on October 6, 2018 [5 favorites]

I worked for five years as a dental assistant. I've seen many different palates . I have this palate too. It's just a variation of palate.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 1:22 PM on October 6, 2018 [23 favorites]

Can't see properly but there is a variant of normal called a torus palatinus, which is a bony growth on the hard palate.

You can get submucosal clefts where there is a cleft with tissue over the top but they don't look like that.

Worth running it past your doctor but I don't think it is anything to worry about.
posted by kadia_a at 2:55 PM on October 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

This is the mid-palatine suture. It appears this way because the mouth has a lot of growing to do, so the bone can't be rigidly connected at this point in life, just like other skull bones.
If you are unsure, have a dentist take a look, it's never too early to have questions answered and make sure everything is developing normally. I see patients as young as a few months for just this type of thing.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:58 PM on October 6, 2018 [9 favorites]

Looks like torus palatinus to me, which I also have, but definitely check with a dentist to be sure.
posted by limeonaire at 6:10 PM on October 6, 2018

I am entirely unqualified to say if this looks normal, but I can say it is absolutely normal to have this type of question answered by a physician and I want to second that early and whilst visits to dental practitioners is a good thing. Normalizing the process of having a stranger look in your child’s mouth is great. Use a practitioner you feel completely comfortable with, because if they set off your spidey sense, your kid will sense it.
posted by bilabial at 7:06 PM on October 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is she tongue tied?If so she will develop a high and narrow upper jaw just like that which will be a giant pain in her ass and yours and her orthodontists and will lead to all kinds of fun occlusion issues. If she is my advice is to have it fixed asap, even if they say it's "no big deal", then see a therapist to make sure she is swallowing properly.
posted by fshgrl at 8:43 PM on October 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

If it’s the torus thing check under her tongue also. I have bony ridges in my mouth which is why dental x-rays have been very painful for like forty years until someone mentioned it. Now I tell my dentist and they position stuff so I don’t cry. Nice if she learns that life-hack early.
posted by Iteki at 6:19 AM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]