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Ultrasound Images of the Tongue: A Tutorial for Assessment and Remediation of Speech Sound Errors
Published on: January 3, 2017
Speech Intelligibility in the Pediatric Dental Setting
Anne Brouillard1, Timothy Hsu2, Angela M Yepes3
1Park Pediatric Dentistry, in Greenwood and Plainfield, IN, and an associate in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Abstract:
Purpose: To compare the articulation index (AI) of different pediatric dental procedures and treatment locations to understand how noise is associated with speech intelligibility (SI) in a pediatric dental setting. Methods: A sound level meter (SLM) collected sound data from 4 locations: an open bay (OB), a quiet room (QR), a moderate sedation suite (OS), and an operating suite (OR). A 197-patient retrospective and prospective chart review was used to obtain Current Dental Terminology (CDT) codes; the patient's age, Frankl score, isolation method, protective stabilization use, and post-graduate provider year (PGY) were obtained via a retrospective chart review. AI, an indicator for speech intelligibility in scenarios where background noise may obscure speech, was calculated from SLM data as described in ANSI/ASA S3.5-1969. Categorical variables were summarized and compared across treatment locations using either chi-squared/Fisher's exact tests. Continuous variables were summarized and compared across treatment locations using the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results: The AI ranged from 0.31 to 1.0, with median values per location of 0.69 (OB), 0.65 (QR), 0.63 (OS), and 0.66 (OR), and median values per treatment type of 0.69 (recall), 0.65 (restorative), and 0.65 (extraction). The AI was not significantly different between locations or procedures (P>0.05) and ranged from excellent to barely acceptable. From the chart review, there was a significant difference between locations regarding isolation method (P<.001), use of protective stabilization (P<.001), PGY year (P<0.001), patient age (P=0.05), and Frankl score (P=0.02). Conclusion: The results suggest that noise impacts speech intelligibility.
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