Obturator prostheses after cancer surgery: an approach to speech outcome assessment.

G. K. Mahanna, D. R. Beukelman, J. A. Marshall, C. A. Gaebler, M. Sullivan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: This article describes a speech assessment protocol for patients using either obturator prostheses or speech aid prostheses for surgically acquired defects due to cancer of the maxilla and/or soft palate. METHODS: This protocol is structured according to the executive summary of "Disability in America: Toward a National Agenda For Prevention" a report formulated by the Institute of Medicine that describes four levels of disorder: (1) pathology, (2) impairment, (3) functional limitation, and (4) disability. Assessment instruments included (1) the Sentence Intelligibility Test to measure the rate and understandability of speech, (2) a speech physiology system to measure appropriate separation of the nasal/nasopharyngeal and oral compartments, (3) a 13-point interval scale to rate speech nasality, and (4) a scale to rate self-perceptions of communication effectiveness. RESULTS: The results from two patients are reported to illustrate the outcome assessment protocol.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)310-316
Number of pages7
JournalThe Journal of prosthetic dentistry
Volume79
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oral Surgery

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