Pronunciation of phonemes in relation to the degree of malocclusion and position of the incisal edges-lip vermilion border

Abstract

Introduction: Phonetics helps to establish an ideal incisal edge position in relation to the vermilion border during phoneme articulation. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the incisal edge of the anterior teeth and the vermilion border with the severity of the malocclusion and phonemes articulation of patients attending from January to February 2015 at the Orthodontics Service of Mexico Children’s Hospital «Dr. Federico Gomez». Material and methods: A prospective, observational and cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients of both genders between the ages of 14 to 25 years old. A digital video sequence was recorded (2 minutes) while the patients pronounced different words. Results: 22.5% of the patients presented phoneme articulation problems (D, K, L, R, S); the phoneme S was found to have the most statistically significant error (8%). Conclusion: It was not observed if a relationship exists between malocclusion severity, incisal edges- vermilion border and phonemes articulation.