A Cephalometic Study of Velar Stretch in 8 and 10-Year Old Children

Abstract

The increase in the intrinsic or resting length of the soft palate measured during velopharyngeal maneuvers associated with speech has been termed velar stretch To date, observations of the prevalence and magnitude of velar stretch have been very limited and obtained from lateral cephalometric radiographs. For example, Simpson and Austin (9) recently completed a systematic study of stretch phenomenon in twenty normal adult speakers. They observed velar stretch in each of twenty subjects studied and measured about a 20 percent average increase in the length of the soft palate during functional activities associated with speech. Velar stretch has also been examined in persons with abnormal palatopharyn-geal mechanisms. For example, Pruzansky and Mason (7) investigated stretch prevalence and magnitude in 110 patients with congenital palatopharyngeal incompetence and reported that " in some individuals the soft palate increased in its intrinsic length during velopharyngeal valving. " Pruzansky and Mason (7) measured about a 16 and 26 percent average increase in velar length during the production of /u/ and /s/ in this series of patients. Systematic observations of velar stretch in normal speaking subjects have apparently been restricted to young adults (9). To our knowledge, there have been no published reports of observations of stretch prevalence and magnitude in normal speaking children. This situation is regretable if one hypothesizes that velar stretch represents an important feature of normal palatopharyngeal function and if one hypothesizes that the potential of the velum to function adequately for speech cannot always be predicted simply on the basis of its intrinsic or resting length. Hence, the general objective of the present study was to use radiographic cephalometry to examine the prevalence, relative magnitude and relationship between velar stretch and other commonly employed radiographic measurements in normal speaking 8 and 10-year—old children. It was assumed that data obtained in this project would, in part, contribute significant information necessary to a more complete description of palatopharyngeal form and function in normal-speaking children. Methods SUBJECTS, Twenty 8—year—old children and twenty lO-year—old children were studied. Both age groups had an equal (N = 10) number of boys and girls. All 417