Structural changes for speech improvement in complete upper denture fabrication.

In the absence of any clearly identifiable pathologic condition, the prosthodontic patient demonstrating speech problems after insertion of complete dentures is having difficulty with loss of turbulence, because of the diminution of tactile location skills in speaking, or both. Potential aids to speech improvement are a nonanatomic papilla placed on the oral surface of the denture just posterior to the location of the incisive papilla, a transversely elongated rugae-like papilla at about the same location, a roughened region at that spot, or an identation sufficient for the patient's tongue to identify. The location and effectiveness of such structural changes can be planned and judged with the cooperation of a qualified speech pathologist.