July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month.

The month is used to raise awareness and improve understanding of body birth defects.

Birth defects are typically present at birth and can range from mild to severe.

Craniofacial anomalies can be genetic, meaning that a child can receive a particular gene or combination of genes from one or both parents.

These genes may have changed at the time of conception, which results in a craniofacial anomaly.

Dentist Dr. Kagiso Moloi says the two most common craniofacial syndromes are cleft lip and cleft palate.

"The problem comes with pregnant mothers who smoke, drink, and take medications that are not prescribed by their doctors."

"This occurs in the first three months of a baby's life when the tissues are still forming and head to form the lip, the nose, the eyes, and the ears. So, basically, if something goes wrong, the tissues either come together prematurely or they overproduce. Like in this picture here, we have overproduction of tissues there, and that is just tissue that is hanging in there, an extra tissue."

In addition, Dr. Moloi says there are craniofacial malformations, including craniosynostosis. This is a defect in which the bones in a baby's skull join together too early.

This happens before the baby's brain is fully formed, and as the baby's brain grows, the skull can become more misshapen.

Patients with this condition experience speech and eating problems.

However, he says there are specific dental treatments or procedures that can help address clefts and facial deformities.