Will Orthodontic Treatment Affect My Speech?

Long Beach, CA – When you begin orthodontic treatment, there are a lot of things you’ll need to get used to. Having brackets and wires or clear aligners in your mouth all day, knowing the ins and outs of caring for your teeth during treatment, and following all the guidelines laid out by your orthodontist can all take some time to acclimate to. One additional thing to get used to is learning to speak with an appliance in your mouth.

You may notice in the first several weeks of orthodontic treatment that your speech sounds a bit altered. This is totally normal and will go away as you get used to your orthodontic appliances. Your tongue has to come into contact with your teeth to form certain sounds. If you now have an appliance in the way, such as a clear aligner, lingual braces, expander or even a retainer, it’s only natural that your mouth will need to adjust in order to accommodate the appliance. 

The type of appliance you choose to straighten your smile also plays a role in how your speech may be affected. Traditional bracket and wire braces will have the least impact on speech since they are bonded to the outside surface of the teeth. Lingual braces, braces placed along the tongue side of the teeth, will have the most adjustment period. Your tongue will come into direct contact with the brackets when speaking, so it is inevitable that speaking with lingual braces may take some getting used to. Likewise, clear aligners will take a bit of time to get used to since there is plastic covering the inside surface of the teeth. 

Your maxillary and mandibular arches are involved in the production of certain sounds, and as braces work to change the shape of your smile, they also change how you articulate certain sounds. The most commonly affected sounds are:

            /s/      /f/      /v/      /t/      /r/      /n/      /l/    “sh”      “ch”      “j”

So, what’s the best way to ensure you get used to orthodontic treatment as quickly as possible? Easy – practice! The more you practice speaking while in treatment, the quicker you’ll be talking like normal. Work on articulation and even practice speaking into a mirror. This allows you to visualize what’s happening in your mouth so you can make adjustments as needed. 

One paragraph that we recommend our Inbrace patients practice speaking is called “The Rainbow Passage,” which is included below. The rainbow passage was developed by speech pathologists to help students with their speaking skills and is a great thing to practice to help acclimate to speaking with new orthodontic appliances.

You also may find it helpful to slow down your speech. Working on enunciating properly by speaking more slowly can be a big help in the first days. It’s also important to be patient. This is only a short hiccup along your way to healthier, more beautiful smile, and in no time, you won’t even remember your speech issues. With a bit of practice and patience, your speech will be back to normal in no time.

Some patients who experienced speech issues prior to orthodontic treatment may notice that once treatment has been completed, those issues are now gone. Malocclusions and gaps can lead to speech issues because the teeth are not aligned properly to allow for proper articulation. Orthodontic treatment can improve not only the look of your smile, but also how it functions. 

Orthodontic treatment takes some getting used to, no matter what treatment option you choose. It has a very real impact on your daily life, but in no time, you’ll be used to the adjustments and be on your way to enjoying your new smile. 

If you have questions about your speech during treatment or any other questions about orthodontic treatment, call HD Orthodontics at 562-283-6590. 

The Rainbow Passage

When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.