A cephalometric study of velar stretch in 8 and 10-year old children

Radiographic cephalometry was used to examine the prevalence, magnitude, and relationship between velar stretch and other commonly employed cephalometric measurements in forty (40) normal-speaking 8 and 10-year-old children. Velar stretch was not universally observed although the average soft palate length characteristics of these children measured during speech were significantly longer than the resting or intrinsic palate length measurements. Significant differences in average stretch magnitude were measured as a function of speech task (/u/ vs /s/) and subject age (8 vs 10-year-olds). Although velar stretch was significantly correlated with several commonly used cephalometric measurements, stretch was not well predicted by any single cephalometric measurement used in this research. These findings are interpreted in terms of their implications for determining velopharyneal adequacy for speech and their implications with respect to developmental features of velar function.