Orthodontics and Speech: Enhancing Communication Through Proper Alignment
For Dr. Moran and Dr. White, helping transform their patients’ lives with orthodontics is incredibly rewarding. One of the ways orthodontics improves a person’s quality of life? It can help fix articulatory difficulties and, in turn, provide a fresh start for clearer communication, easier learning, and more confident social skills.
First, What Causes Speech Impediments?
Articulatory difficulties are a disorder of muscles and function of the face and mouth with a variety of causes. Some speech problems stem from things unrelated to your teeth and jaws such as a cleft palate, brain damage, hearing issues, or genetics.
On the other hand, some speech difficulties are related to malocclusion like overbites, underbites, crossbites, or crowded teeth. Misaligned teeth can affect the ability to articulate a whole range of sounds, making your speech less clear, difficult, and sometimes frustrating.
What causes speech impediments might also contribute to other facial or oral difficulties. You or your child might mouth breathe or have issues with closing the lips over the teeth. Your tongue might push past your teeth when you’re not using it. Eating might be messy or difficult, or you notice that you drool. These are all signs that your teeth and jaws aren’t in an ideal position for functioning at their best.
Common Speech Problems Where Orthodontics Can Help
This is where holistic orthodontists like Dr. Moran and Dr. White can help you leave speech difficulties behind. At Foundations Orthodontics, we look at your entire oral structure and treat the relationship of your teeth, muscles, tongue, and jaws not only for strong, beautiful teeth but for optimum speaking, eating, even breathing.
So if you or your child has articulatory difficulties because of teeth, tongue posture, and jaw alignment, we’re your Denver-area orthodontist who can help with fixing speech disorders caused by malocclusion. The most common speech problems that orthodontics can help resolve? These include:
Lisp/Whistling: A lisp means having trouble pronouncing /s/ and /z/ sounds and often replaces them with a “th” sound. Sometimes whistling is lumped in with lisping because both are about air escaping incorrectly. Patients with a lisp or whistle typically have an overbite, a gap between their front teeth or an open bite. To fix a speech problem like a lisp or whistling, your Denver-area orthodontists can use braces or clear aligners to align the bite and correct teeth spacing.
Difficulty Articulating Consonants: How we say consonants or groups of consonants can be impacted by different malocclusions. An example? Sounds like /t/, /n/ and /d/ may be affected by an underbite, crossbite, crowding, or open bite. Orthodontics can contribute to fixing these speech disorders by correcting the relationship between the jaws and teeth so they all fit harmoniously together.
Slurring: If you or your child has issues with slurring, this is often because there’s not enough space in the mouth for the tongue to move properly. Orthodontics can be used to expand the palate (upper jaw) and lower jaw to allow the tongue to function freely.
Improving Your Speech With Phase 1 Braces or Other Appliances
Fixing speech disorders early with Phase 1 orthodontics can go a long way in improving a child’s daily life. Younger children with speech articulatory difficulties can benefit from Phase 1 orthodontics like a palatal expander or limited braces.
As your Denver-area orthodontist for kids, the team at Foundations Orthodontics leans towards prevention when possible. However, we balance this with a conservative approach, recommending Phase 1 orthodontics when there’s a clear, health-based reason. For children with speech issues related to malocclusion, Phase 1 orthodontics helps correct orthodontic issues before they worsen and continue to negatively impact speech.
We might also recommend Phase 1 orthodontics for fixing articulatory difficulties because it’s an ideal time in their oral development. A child’s oral and facial structures are still growing and therefore, more easily malleable. Opening up a narrow palate or shifting teeth meets less resistance, is quicker, and more comfortable than the same movements in the teen or adult years. Then, once a child has all their adult teeth, your Denver-area orthodontist for kids can fine-tune their smile with braces or clear aligners like Invisalign® or 3M™ Clarity™ Aligners.
Fixing Speech Disorders In Combination with Myofunctional Speech Therapy
Completely improving speech sometimes requires a multidisciplinary approach, specifically, orthodontics and myofunctional speech therapy together. What is myofunctional therapy? Simply put, it’s oral physical therapy that focuses on tongue and lip function, breathing patterns, and swallowing habits.
A speech-language pathologist will help train and strengthen the mouth, tongue, and facial muscles after orthodontics are complete. Targeting these basics helps train the oral muscles to function and work together correctly, ultimately enhancing speech and oral health. Myofunctional therapy is painless and typically lasts 6-12 months, depending on your progress.
Learning Ideal Breathing Habits
The way you breathe impacts how you speak. Orthodontic issues like a narrow palate or overbite are related to mouth breathing, which isn’t ideal for your health. Mouth breathing alters airflow, creating nasal resonance problems. Orthodontics paired with myofunctional therapy can encourage proper airflow and improve speech quality.
Swallowing Relearned
How you swallow impacts tongue posture, which in turn affects speech. An incorrect swallowing pattern — like tongue thrust — can both contribute to and result from malocclusions and articulatory difficulties. The good news? Myofunctional speech therapy aims to correct unhelpful swallowing habits, retraining the muscles to swallow properly for better eating and speaking.
Myofunctional speech therapy involves a variety of tailored steps and exercises to improve the mechanics of how you speak. Your speech therapist might ask you to:
Practice articulating sounds in a clear and precise manner
Implement tongue movement techniques
Require you practice breathing that matches up with speaking
Notice and get comfortable with where and how your tongue and lips should be held and positioned
Change how you chew and swallow.
Together, orthodontics and myofunctional speech therapy can provide a new lease on life with benefits like:
Improved Speech Clarity: Correcting misaligned teeth and jaws improves the complex interactions and spatial relationships you had with your tongue and lip function, your teeth and jaws.
Enhanced Confidence: To fix a speech issue like a lisp or slurring can result in a significant boost to self-esteem and confidence. Whether a child or adult, this can lead to improved social interactions and mental well-being.
Better Oral Health: Straight teeth and an aligned bite not only makes speaking easier but also contribute to more effective oral hygiene, reducing susceptibility to tooth decay and cavities.
Your Holistic Orthodontist for Improving Your Speech WIth Braces
Feel more informed about what causes speech impediments? Want the life-changing benefits of orthodontics paired with myofunctional speech therapy? Dr. Moran, Dr. White, and your Denver-area holistic orthodontic team are experienced in orthodontics for fixing speech disorders — we’re here to help patients speak with ease and clarity.
As board certified orthodontists, you can be sure we practice with the highest quality care, the most up-to-date techniques and knowledge, and personalized patient care that’s second to none. In addition, our holistic bite correction philosophy means your smile result ticks all the boxes: a stable, strong, functional, and aesthetic smile all in one.
Contact us for a complimentary appointment at our Denver, Centennial, Granby or Winter Park office. Start your journey towards improving your speech and overall quality of life!