Jason Paternoster is one tough toddler. Mom Tiffany is thankful his only visible facial scar resulted from a recent tumble.

Three-year-old Jason was born with a severe cleft lip and palate.

You'd never guess the 3-year-old was born with a severe cleft lip and palate. Doctors spotted the cleft during Tiffany's routine prenatal ultrasound. Three days after he was born, Jason began a unique treatment called nasoalveolar molding, or NAM.

"Babies are very moldable after birth because of the increased level of maternal estrogen," said Dr. Lisa Vecchione, a craniofacial orthordontist.

With NAM, orthodontists take a dental impression of a newborn's mouth in order to create a mold, similar to a small denture. The baby wears it around the clock as it guides the mouth and lip into place.

"I make small adjustments where I add denture liner to push the gum ridge in the position I want it to be in, and I relieve areas of the denture that I want the tissue to grow into," she said.

Doctors examined Jason weekly, adding nasal stents to help shape his face. After five months plastic surgeons repaired the cleft nose and lip.

"It really sets the stage to make surgery much easier," said Dr. Joseph Losee of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

These days Jason has a smile that lights up a room. Tiffany credits the surgical team, and nasoalveolar molding.

"It's the most wonderful thing we could have been introduced to for Jason," she said.

Surgeons say the NAM procedure is painless, but it can be time consuming for families. It requires weekly doctor visits to adjust the appliance. 

Infants with cleft palate can get the NAM treatment approach at Seattle's Children's Hospital.