Palatal training appliances in children with mild to moderate oral dysfunctions

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of palatal training appliances on speech articulation and orofacial functions in children undergoing speech therapy.

The material consisted of 134 boys and 34 girls who were referred by speech and language therapists to the Public Dental Health Service in Vantaa due to mild to moderate problems with speech articulation or in oral motor skills. The mean age of the children at the start of the palatal plate therapy was 6.4 years (SD 1.9). The articulation assessment was performed by five speech and language therapist while the palatal plate therapy was carried out by an experienced dentist. The mean treatment time with the oral plates was 4.4 months (SD 2.3).

An improvement in speech articulation was observed by the speech and language therapists in 51% of the children. Tongue movements improved in 47%, and lip closure in 38% of the participants. Drooling decreased in 54% of the cases. A multiple logistic regression model revealed that with respect to speech articulation the best improvement was found in children with /r/-disorder and in those with a crossbite.

Palatal training appliances during speech therapy seemed to be an efficient way to improve speech articulation and tongue movements in children with mild to moderate problems in orofacial functions.