Maxillary Dental Arch Dimensions in 6-Year-Old Children with Articulatory Speech Disorders

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate maxillary dental arch dimensions in 6-year-old children with articulatory speech disorders and to compare their dental arch dimensions with age- and sex-matched controls without speech disorders. Methods: Fifty-two children (15 girls) with errors in the articulation of the sounds /r/, /s/ or /l/ were compared retrospectively with age- and sex-matched controls from dental casts taken at a mean age of 6.4 years (range 5.0–8.4). All children with articulatory speech disorders had been referred to City of Helsinki Health Care, Dental Care Department by a phoniatrician or a speech therapist in order to get oral-motor activators (removable palatal plates) to be used in their speech therapy. A χ²-test and paired Student’s t tests were used in the statistical analyses. Results: The children with articulatory speech disorders had similar maxillary dental arch widths but smaller maxillary dental arch length than the controls. Conclusion: This small series suggests that 6-year-old children with articulatory speech disorders may have decreased maxillary dental arch length.