Clinical Evaluation of the Speech Following Maxillectomy

The influence of maxillectomy on speech sound articulation and intelligibility were　studied by ten cases. These cases were anatomically classified into Type I (unilateral),　II (unilateral), and III (bilateral) in maxillectomy type. Pressure consonants, such as　plosives [p, b, t, d, k, g], fricatives [s, ç] and affricates [ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ], were defective　in maxillectomized patients. Vowels [i, u] were inclined to be hypernasal. Nasal　consonants [m, n] and fricatives [F, h; j, w] were rarely misarticulated. Dental　obtulator, denture or maxillo-dental prosthesis for unilateral maxillectomy produced　effective recovery of speech in most of cases, but did not so much for bilateral maxillectomy.　When patients with unilateral maxillectomy (Type I or II) obtained intraoral　pressure ratio of 0.8 or more with the use of such prosthesis, their speech became　intelligible. The patients with bilateral maxillectomy (Type III), however, could not　attain to such acceptable speech level. Articulation test composed of eight consonants　[p, b, t, d, k, g, s, ç] and five vowels [a, o, e, u, i] is recommended for such patients　conclusively in consideration of this experimental result.