Influence of the major connector in a maxillary denture on phonetic function

Abstract

It was indicated that the middle type of the major connector would be recommended from a viewpoint of phonetic function.

Influence of the Width and Cross-Sectional Shape of Major Connectors of Maxillary Dentures on the Accuracy of Speech Production

“…Therefore, even if it was wide, a connector located in the middle area of the palate was suggested to have less influence on speech production than connectors located in other areas [31]. The connector in this location induced only a slight disturbance in the articulation of consonants at the posterior areas of the palate, regardless of width or cross-sectional shape.…”

“…In addition, this evaluation can be conducted immediately using only a laptop computer with specific software and a headset microphone. With this system, we tried to analyze the influences of the incisal overjet [29] and palatal contour [30] of a maxillary complete denture on alveolar consonants as well as the influence of the position of the major connector in a maxillary removable partial denture on several consonants, in addition to the alveolar consonants [31]. In particular, we found that locating the major connector in the middle area of the palate results in a smaller disturbance than in other areas from the viewpoints of accuracy of phonetic output, a shorter duration of consonants, and the tendency to change to other consonants.…”

Removable Partial Denture Designing: Variation of Hard and Soft Tissue Anatomy and Maxillary Major Connector Selection

“…It was found that, speech problem was improved or restored to normal when tissue coverage by the MCwas decreased, such as with a PB or PS [45,68]. Wada et al,( 2011Wada et al,( , 2014 investigated the effect of width and cross-sectional shape of MMCs on the accuracy of speech production. The experimental connectors were fabricated to simulate bars (narrow, 8-mm width) and plates (wide, 20-mm width).…”

“…The experimental connectors were fabricated to simulate bars (narrow, 8-mm width) and plates (wide, 20-mm width). Two types of cross-sectional shapes in the sagittal plane were specified: flat and plump edge and concluded that, the width and cross-sectional shape of the connectors had limited effects on the articulation of consonants at the palate [69,70]. Also, they evaluated the influence of the major connectors on phonetic function with six test sounds using a speech recognition system.…”

“…The results of the intelligibility suggest that using the middle type of the major connector on dentures has the least impact on phonetic function. In case the denture is a bilateral design, the M-bar, which can connect the teeth abutment with the shortest line, is recommended from a viewpoint of phonetic function [70]. Proponents of the midpalatal bar suggest that this is a favorable position since it leaves the anterior "playground free and also the posterior region of the palate, which may be contacted by the dorsum of the tongue during speech and swallowing [26].…”