A multidisciplinary approach to the assessment of oral breathing, speech disorders, and dentofacial deformities in children – pilot study

This study presents a multidisciplinary evaluation of fourteen patients with adenoid hypertrophy, which causes pathological (oral) breathing and associated symptomatic manifestations, including snoring during sleep, halitosis, and an open mouth at rest.Oral breathing, especially during prolonged periods during the growth and development of the nasomaxillary complex, may lead to dentofacial deformities. The orthodontic analysis identifies dentofacial deformities of varying severities, including compression in the upper jaw, crossbite in the lateral and frontal segments, open bite, and class II occlusion. The speech-language status establishes a high frequency of disorders in articulating fricatives /s/, /z/, /sh/, /zh/, and affricatives /ts/ and /tsh/. Directional, interdental articulation of phonemes from early ontogenesis (plosives /t/ and /d/, nasal /n/), distinguished by an articulation position in the upper front part of the oral cavity. Disordered articulation of phonemes of later ontogenesis - approximants /l/. Manifestations of speech disorders are a direct consequence of established pathological speech, breathing, and dentofacial deformities.Results: The results categorically confirm the manifestation of pathological mouth breathing, dentofacial deformities, and articulation disorders.Conclusions: A multidisciplinary team and approach are necessary to assess and treat changes caused by adenoid hypertrophy, thereby preventing the development of craniofacial deformities and speech disorders.