The role of speech therapy in identifying anomalies of the dentition. Surgical treatment of ankyloglossia

Abstract

The combination of speech therapy and dentistry is increasingly becoming a necessary tandem in identifying anomalies of the dentoalveolar system in the early stages of development of the speech apparatus. It is very important to pay attention to risk factors during pregnancy, because it is during the period of intrauterine development of the fetus that deviations from the normal structure of the body occur, leading to various anomalies. This is due to many factors. The main ones include the ecological situation, social status, quality of food and water, as well as the working conditions of a pregnant woman. According to statistics, the number of detected congenital maxillofacial anomalies has doubled over the past 40 years. According to the WHO, the frequency of such cases is 1.6 per 1000 newborns, ranking second after heart defects. Sometimes parents do not pay enough attention to such important aspects as the location of the tongue in the oral cavity, the degree of tension and involvement of the muscles of the face and neck, the length of the frenum in the child’s oral cavity, which directly affects the sound production, speech production, facial symmetry and aesthetics of a smile. This article presents the main methods of speech therapy in working with patients with dental anomalies, as well as additional diagnostic methods to identify concomitant pathologies. Due to the timely detection of various anomalies, a dentist surgeon, using the extensive capabilities of modern dentistry, is able to significantly improve the quality of life of a child. This is one of the provisions for the prevention of serious complications regarding the dentition, which can affect the general development and health of the child.