Children reach milestones at different ages, language development and speech ability is a big one!
The process of developing speech is complicated. There are many factors which may influence this process including coordination of the muscles involved in pronunciation and the processing ability of the brain and nerves. The vocal cords, tongue, lips, hard and soft palates, nasal cavity and teeth ALL play a role in speech.
If the root of a speech problem is because of tooth positions or structure of the jaws, orthodontic assessment and treatment can be helpful.
Some of the common speech problems that orthodontic treatments can improve are:
Lisping/Whistling
Lisping is the type of speech defect that involves a person having trouble to properly pronouncing sounds associated with “s” or “z”. These sounds are often replaced with “th”.
Overbites, Underbites and Gaps
These are frequent causes of lisping. The extra gaps between front upper and lower teeth may make it more difficult to pronounce the sounds mentioned above.
Slurring
Not having enough room for the tongue can make speech sound slurred. It’s more often seen in people with crossbites or underbites.
Similarly, alignment issues that lead to gaps can cause the tongue to be placed in the wrong position while speaking, allowing air to escape.
Mispronouncing consonants
A typical example is alveolar sounds of /t/, /n/, /d/. Pronouncing those sounds requires the tongue to press against the upper ridge of the palate, and underbites, crossbites, crowding or open bite can affect this.
Gaps between teeth can make it harder to pronounce sounds the “s”, “t” or “ch”, as they require the tongue to connect with the teeth.
Underbites, overbites and spaces open bite issues can usually be fixed with braces, aligners.
Orthodontic treatment on its own may not be able to eliminate entire speech problems, your GP or a speech pathologist may be involved. In the meantime, having your child assessed by an orthodontist at around 7-9 years old can make a huge difference because intervention while the teeth and jaws are still developing can have a more stable and satisfactory outcome.