Residual clefts in the hard palate: correlation between cleft size and speech.

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between size of residual clefts in the hard palate and speech.

SUBJECTS: Fifteen 7-year-old children born with complete cleft lip and palate were investigated.

METHODS

All of the children were treated according to a surgical regimen involving early soft palate repair and delayed hard palate closure. Measures were taken of the area, length, and maximal width of the residual cleft in the hard palate about a year before its closure and correlated with a perceptual judgment of several speech variables.

RESULTS

Significant positive correlations were obtained between the size of the cleft and two variables: weak pressure consonants and hypernasality. Nasal escape was very common among the patients, and almost half the children had retracted palatal or velar articulation of dental stop consonants. Neither of these two variables correlated with the size of the residual cleft.

CONCLUSION

Perceived oral pressure and, perhaps, resonance seem to be related to size of the opening of the residual cleft, whereas audible nasal escape and articulatory compensations are not, at least not the latter once established.