Speech production assessment of mouth breathing children with hypertrophy of palatines and/or pharyngeal tonsils

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the speech sound production of children diagnosed with a palatine mouth breathing and / or hypertrophic pharyngeal tonsil and compare it to that of a group of children that do not show any respiratory alterations, besides associating with age and sex. Methods: a quantitative, cross-sectional, analytical and observational research. Children from five to twelve years old have took part of the study, 50 of them diagnosed as mouth breathers (research group - RG) and 50 with no respiratory alteration (control group - CG). Anamnesis and evaluation based on MBGR protocol was performed, focusing on the speech, supported by figures and with samples of automatic and spontaneous speech. Results: there were no differences between the groups, taking into account the parents' complaint. Speech alterations, such as phonetic deflection, lingual interposition and distortions, and occlusion alterations were more frequent in RG. Speech alterations prevailed for males in 83% and the average age related to speech did not show any significance. Conclusion: mouth breathing children present more alterations of speech sounds than those presented with no respiratory alteration, regardless of the age group, being more common in male children.

Conhecimento dos professores sobre a respiração oral antes e após programa de orientação

“…Regarding changes in speech (Q4), 68% of teachers answered in the pre-program questionnaire, that mouth breathing may impair speech compared to 98% in the post-program questionnaire. Mouth breathing can cause phonetic impairments in the production of sound, as was found in another study that compared mouth and nose breathers, with lingual interposition as the most common alteration in those who breathed through the mouth (22) , therefore it is important that teachers know that speech disorders can occur in mouth breathers, and that these changes even though they are not phonological should not be ignored.…”

“…Structural changes may include, mouth breathing which can cause craniofacial, dental (14)(15)(16)(17)(18) , orofacial musculature (17) and postural changes (19) . These changes can result in changes in the stomatognathic system, affecting chewing (20,21) , speech (22) and swallowing (23) .…”

Impact of the Habit of Mouth Breathing on the Development of the Stomatognathic System- Literature Review

“…Mouth breathing can be a factor that interferes with the proper development of language, presenting speech disorders [8].…”

“…By constantly keeping the mouth ajar, RBs cause hypofunction of the orofacial muscles, which leads to a deterioration of certain phonemes such as: t, d, s, z, r [1,8].…”

“…In another study, 17.5% of the population presented dry and chapped lips [3]. This oral habit can cause occlusal changes, alterations in orofacial muscle tone, deviations in the chewing and swallowing pattern, sleep disorders, speech alterations and learning difficulties [6][7][8].…”