Influences of Maxillary Anterior Sanitary Pontics on Phonetics

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of maxillary anterior sanitary pontics on pronunciation, which might be caused by the passage of air through the space between the pontics and the underlying tissue. Two types of experimental resin pontics-sanitary pontics and ridgelap pontics-were temporarily cemented to the abutment teeth in 5 subjects who were missing anterior teeth. Comparative analyses of the articulation of sibilants were done with both types of pontics indicated.
The results are as follows
1. Subjective speech disorders were found immediately after the cementation of sanitary pontics in each of the 5 subjects, but the disorders became less noticeable as time passed.
2. Objective speech disorders were not found immediately after the cementation of sanitary pontics in any of the subjects.
3. The sound spectrograms of voice sounds /s/, /∫/, /ts/ and /t∫/ when using sanitary pontics were different from those of the ridge-lap pontics in 4 of the subjects.
4. Mandibular positions during /s/, /∫//ts/ and /t∫/ sound articulation immediately after the cementation of sanitary pontics were slightly different from those of the ridge-lap pontics in 4 of the subjects. However, no significant difference was found a month after the cementation of the sanitary pontics.
5. The palatograms when using sanitary pontics were different from those with the ridgelap pontics in 3 of the subjects. With sanitary pontics, the contour of the tongue palate contact area became enlarged in the anterior region, but these changes of the palatograms disappeared a month after the cementation of sanitary pontics.