Phonetic changes, dental occlusion and their relationships in individuals with cleft lip and palate undergoing orthognathic surgery.
Melissa Picinato-Pirola, Andressa Sharllene Carneiro da Silva, Bruna Mara Adorno Marmontel Araújo and 1 others
PMID 41417541WHAT IT FOUND
Maxillary surgery improved some speech distortions and lisps, but hypernasality worsened on oral texts.
No sound became 100% normal. Patients still need speech therapy after surgery to address remaining errors and new resonance issues.
Key findings
01Tongue interposition, distortion, and anterior lisping improved significantly after surgery, but hypernasality increased on oral texts.
02Occlusal changes influenced specific phonetic errors like tongue interposition and distortion, but did not affect nasalance or velopharyngeal closure.
03No phoneme achieved 100% normal production after surgery, confirming the ongoing need for post-operative speech therapy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Retrospective design with data from a pre-existing database. Speech therapy received in hometowns was not controlled, so some improvement may be due to therapy rather than surgery. Small sample size for some subgroup analyses. Assessments were at different time points (60-90 days for speech, 12 months for instrumental), making direct temporal correlation difficult. No control group of patients who did not undergo surgery.
Declared interests
The authors declare no financial support and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume surgery fixes speech. While some articulation errors improved, hypernasality worsened on oral texts, and no sound became 100% normal. The study cannot separate the effects of surgery from the uncontrolled speech therapy patients received in their hometowns.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →