Page 87 - Impact of implant retained overdenture treatment and speech, oromyofunction, social participation and quality of life.

Speech and OHRQoL in OD treatment in the maxilla
sizes to be able to generalize our findings to the wide study population. A last limitation is the use of self-report to assess hearing difficulties. Because of the small sample size, the power of the post hoc test was too small to actually state that there was no difference between the outcomes of the ‘disturbed hearing’ group and the ‘normal hearing’ group. This needs to be corrected in future research.
Future research should also focus on how the different shapes of dentures influence speech sounds and how the speech problems can be solved.
Conclusion
Articulation disorders occur in all stages of the treatment. It was not possible to determine significant differences in speech performance during treatment and after 3 years follow-up. Still several speech disorders occur during treatment. The /s/ sound is the most vulnerable sound in all stages. Patients’ satisfaction and OHRQoL improved after connection of the IOD to the implants and after 3 years follow-up compared to the CD. Patients report more satisfaction with speech after removal of the palatal coverage at the moment of connection to the implants. It is important for dentists to be aware of the possible effects of dental treatment on speech and to inform patients accordingly.
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