Phonetic improvement by adjusting the shape of the anterior palate of the maxillary complete denture: a case report

Abstract

Patients tend to return to normal pronunciation patterns after fitting new dentures. However, for some patients, it takes a long time to adapt the new complete denture. In this case, the patient came to the hospital at the address of wanting to remake dentures due to wear and tear. After diagnosis through clinical and radio-logical examination, the maxillary complete denture and mandibular removable partial denture were remade. The patient complained whistling /s/ sound at the first check-up after placement of the new denture. The anterior palatal area of polished surface of the new maxillary complete denture was concave comparing to old denture, and this was the cause of the whistling /s/ sound. A tissue conditioning material was applied to the maxillary complete denture and patient made /s/ sound. The tissue conditioning material was replaced with self-curing type denture base resin, and the patient was immediately satisfied with clear /s/ sound. As an objective assessment, palatogram and speech analytics software was applied. In this case, a patient who received denture treatment complaining of difficulty in pronunciation underwent immediate denture repair, which resulted in patient satisfaction and improved pronunciation through objective evaluation. (J Korean Acad Prosthodont 2022;60:37-43)