The cleft or craniofacial anomaly is usually classified during the initial examination of the infant. Craniofacial anomalies, other than clefts, are discussed in Section IV.

1. Clefts of the lip and clefts of the palate can occur simultaneously or separately.
2. The most common classification system for clefting uses the terms primary and secondary palate to define the cleft.
3. The dividing point of the primary and secondary palate is the incisive foramen. The primary palate is anterior to this anatomic point and the secondary palate is posterior to it.
4. The primary palate includes:
   1. Lip
   2. Alveolus
5. The secondary palate includes:
   1. Hard palate
   2. Soft palate
   3. Uvula
6. Any cleft of the primary or secondary palate may be complete or incomplete, depending on whether or not the cleft involves the entire anatomic structure.
7. Any cleft of the primary or secondary palate may be unilateral or bilateral.
8. Submucous clefts of the secondary palate may also occur. These can be detected by visual inspection, ultrasonography or radiography.

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