Articulatory Patterns in Patients with Different Degrees of Malocclusion

The aim of this study is to detect if there is a relationship between the form of dental occlusion, and speech performance efficiency level. Subjects were divided into groups A to F, Group A was subjects of normal occlusion, and no individual teeth abnormalities, Group B had the same occlusal pattern as A; but with individual teeth abnormalities, Group C: Class II occlusion, with no individual teeth abnormalities, Group D had the same occlusal pattern as C, but with individual teeth abnormalities, Group E with class III occlusion and Group F had the same occlusal pattern but with individual teeth abnormalities. Test battery assessed the intelligibility, and articulatory performance of patients, whether or not nasal intonation of speech existed by simple tests and nasoometer as well as visual viewing by the Nasal Fiberscopy. Then speech laboratory measurements were employed to compare formant transition time and consonant duration in subjects. Conclusion: Class II occlusion has a better performance than Class III, and both classes in addition to Class I subjects have better performance in absence of individual tooth abnormalities, however most subjects are perceptually free from articulatory errors due to speech adaptive capacity.