Role of developmental stage of occlusion for articulatory disorders in speech among first-graders.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the eruption stage and that of occlusal anomalies among etiological factors for articulatory speech disorders in a series of first-graders. The results suggest that even though speech and sound production have been reported to be mature by the age of five, some spontaneous correction of speech sound articulation occurs with maturing of the articulators with age and with eruption of some permanent teeth during the first phase of the mixed dentition.