The effects of a maxillary speech-aid prosthesis for the combined tongue and mandibular resection patient.

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a protocol for the fabrication of a prosthesis that would improve speech in individuals who have undergone complete removal of the tongue and mandible. A 60-year-old man was suffering from severe xerostomia and was unable to produce intelligible speech. Speech analysis without the prosthesis revealed a profound articulatory disorder. With the prosthesis, xerostomia was eliminated and the subject had fewer articulatory errors of severity. Improvement in speech intelligibility was significant at p less than 0.001.