An Association of Premature Loss of Primary Maxillary Incisors With Speech Production of Bilingual Children

作者：Lamberghini Flavia; Kaste Linda M^*; Fadavi Shahrbanoo; Koerber Anne; Punwani Indru C; Smith Bonnie E

来源：Pediatric Dentistry, 2012, 34(4): 307-311.

• TOOTH EXTRACTION
• SPEECH ARTICULATION
• DENTAL CARIES
• PRIMARY DENTITION
• HISPANIC AMERICANS

Purpose: Early childhood caries is prevalent in the United States, especially among Hispanic children. One consequence may be premature loss of primary teeth, raising concern about developmental challenges. This study examined speech sound articulation errors association with premature loss of the primary maxillary incisors of bilingual children (Spanish/English). Methods: Hispanic children were assessed with a speech sound articulation test at 7 to 10 years of age against their history of primary maxillary anterior incisor loss. The exposed group (N=25) experienced premature extraction of these incisors, and the unexposed group (N=8) had normal dental exfoliation. Results: The groups were similar regarding: age at speech assessment; gender; language spoken at home; socioeconomic status: caries prevalence; mean number of decayed, missing, filled and sealed teeth. Higher values for the dental articulation errors (P=.04) were revealed among exposed vs unexposed. Exposed boys had more total speech articulation errors (P=.03), dental-related errors (P=.048), and other errors (P=.04) than the unexposed boys, although of small sample size. Discussion: Bilingual children who experienced early primary tooth loss exhibited differences in speech sound production vs those who did not. Further research is warranted to determine the extent early tooth loss in bilingual children predicts speech problems. (Pediatr Dent 2012;34:307-11) Received September 13, 2010 vertical bar Last Revision July 25, 2011 vertical bar Accepted July 25, 2011

• 出版日期2012-8