Velopharyngeal area with and without palatal prosthesis assessed by flow-pressure technique

Abstract

Introduction: Perceptual evaluation of speech is considered as the first method to diagnose velopharyngeal disfunction in individuals with cleft palate. However it consists of a subjective judgement which is subject to variations and errors, even among skilled listeners. For this reason, the use of instrumental exams is necessary for treatment planning. Flow pressure technique is an aerodynamic method which allows to measure the size of velopharyngeal orifice area, as well as to obtain data on the temporal aspects of velopharyngeal function in specific phoneme contexts. Objectives: 1) To describe and compare the results of the aerodynamic evaluation by means of the flow-pressure technique in cleft palate patients, with and without speech prosthesis; 2) To describe and compare the results of the judgment of nasal air emission and/or nasal snort in the same patients described in objective 1, with and without palatal prosthesis; 3) To investigate the relationship between the perceptual judgements of nasal air emission/nasal snort and the measurements of the velopharyngeal area in the same patients described in objective 1, with and without prosthesis. Material and method: The sample will be constituted by the results of the perceptual evaluation of the occurrence of the nasal air emission and/or nasal snort, by the results of the Nasal Air Emission Test and the results of the aerodynamic exams by means of the flow-pressure technique, of at least 30 cleft palate patients, with and without palatal prosthesis. The results will be compared and discussed.