title: Short- and long-term effects of thumb-sucking habit breaking appliance on speech in children.
abstract: Fourteen children with thumb-sucking habit breaking appliances were evaluated for any defective speech. They were tested before insertion, 3 months, and 6 months after appliance placement. Also, after 6 months from appliance removal to test the short- and long-term effects on speech respectively. The results revealed that the habit breaker caused short-term deleterious effects on speech but no long-term effects after removal of the appliance. This appliance should only be used with children older than 4.5 years whose speech is mostly developed. While wearing the appliance, speech will be improved over time on individual basis.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Khalil
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005386:Fingersucking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances / Q000009:adverse effects; D010159:Palate; D010700:Phonetics; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors