What is a speech aid?
Dental speech aids help patients with speech impairments caused by congenital conditions, trauma, surgery, or other factors affecting the head and neck region. These aids are tailored to the specific needs of each patient with the goal of improved articulation, resonance, and overall speech quality.
Types of dental speech aids include:
- Palatal Lift Prosthesis (PLP)
- Purpose: Supports the soft palate (velum) to achieve better closure against the back of the throat (pharyngeal wall) during speech.
- Recommended for patients: Where the soft palate does not close properly during speech, resulting in too much air escaping through the nose while talking.
- Design: A custom-fitted removable device, resembling a retainer, that lifts the soft palate, often anchored to existing teeth.
- Obturator
- Purpose: Closes openings in the hard or soft palate to prevent air and food from entering the nasal cavity, improving speech and swallowing.
- Recommended for patients: With openings in the roof of their mouths from surgery, disease or congenital conditions.
- Design: Can be removable or fixed and is made to fit the contours of the opening, providing a barrier that helps normal speech production.
- Speech Bulb Prosthesis
- Purpose: Extends into the nasopharynx (top of the throat) to help achieve velopharyngeal closure (valve separating the nasal and oral cavities) during speech.
- Recommended for patients: With significant soft palate deficiencies or those who have undergone surgery that affects the soft palate.
- Design: A custom-fitted removable device, resembling a retainer, that has a bulb extending posteriorly to fill the space and assist in proper closure during speech and ability to swallow.
- Palatal Augmentation Prosthesis (PAP):
- Purpose: Lowers the height of the palate to aid allow tongue contact during speech.
- Recommended for patients: With insufficient tongue to palate contact due to neurological conditions, surgical removal, or trauma.
- Design: Custom-made to change the shape of the palate, ensuring that the tongue can reach it more effectively during speech.
Speech aids play a crucial role in improving clarity, resonance, and overall communication abilities, significantly enhancing the quality of life for individuals with conditions affecting their head and neck regions.
What type of dentist designs a speach aid and manages my treatment?
As a Maxillofacial Prosthodontist, Dr. Catherine Cagino treats conditions affecting the entire head and neck region. Maxillofacial prosthodontics, a subspecialty of prosthodontics, focuses on rehabilitating patients with congenital defects, disease, or trauma-related disabilities. Dr. Cagino also creates prostheses to protect areas of the head and neck during radiation therapy. She often combines maxillofacial prosthetics with traditional dental therapies to restore health, function, and aesthetics to her patients’ mouths.
Dr. Cagino works closely with ENTs, oral and general surgeons, oncologists, plastic surgeons, anaplastologists, and other medical specialists to ensure optimal, long-term outcomes for her patients. By collaborating with both her patients and their medical teams, she develops customized treatment plans focused on restoring function, comfort, longevity, and confidence. If you’d like to explore how Dr. Cagino can help you, call or email our team to discuss your goals and schedule an initial consultation.