Palatal lift prostheses for treatment of palatopharyngeal incompetence.

It appears that the palatal lift prosthesis is an effective prosthesis to improve palatopharyngeal incompetence in selected patients. Despite the inconvenience and problems associated with a prosthesis, this procedure is indicated for selected patients who have anatomically normal palates that are dysfunctional. The ultimate benefit of the palatal lift prostheses to the speech of the patients is not the subject of this report. However, it should be noted that many patients can benefit from speech therapy after a satisfactory prosthetic result has been achieved.