[Evaluation of the speech outcomes in patients with unilateral maxillary defect rehabilitated with maxillary obturator prosthesis].

PURPOSE

Evaluation of the outcomes in 15 patients with unilateral maxillary defect before and after maxillofacial obturator prosthesis.

METHODS

15 patients with unilateral maxillary defect were included in this study, who received obturator prosthesis for maxillary rehabilitation. The pronunciation of the examined phonetics such as /a/, /o/, /e/, /i/, /u/ were transferred into CSL4400 before and after treatment. The mean value of the first, second, third formant were measured. Paired t test of SPSS11.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

There was statistically significant difference on F2 and F3 before and after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment the value of F3 was increased significantly.

CONCLUSIONS

The soft palate was reconstructed after obturator treatment. The space between the nasal and oral cavity was sealed,through which a similar normal oral cavity was obtained. Except F1, F2 and F3 of all the vowels changed after treatment. Maxillofacial prosthesis can improve the speech function of patients with unilateral maxillary defect effectively.