Anterior Open Bite and Speech Disorders in Children with Down Syndrome

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence and to determine if there is an association between anterior open bite and the presence of speech disorders in a group of Mexican children with Down syndrome (DS). The subjects were a group of Mexican children with Down syndrome (DG) and a control group (CG) of Mexican pediatric patients without disabilities matched by age. The children in both groups came from families having children with anterior open bite and children without it. A parental questionnaire, dental study casts, and a speech test were used to measure the studied variables. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test (chi(2) test), and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA), followed by the Tukey post hoc test. Prevalence of anterior open bite was 31.6% in the DG and 22.8% in the CG. The total speech errors by omissions, substitutions, distortions, and additions indicated that there were significant differences between both groups (F = 31.68, P < .001). In general, no significant difference in speech disorders was observed between the DG and the CG regardless of the presence of anterior open bite. No association existed between speech disorders and anterior open bite in the samples studied.