Who is a speech therapist and what do they do?

A speech and language therapist is a specialist in the pedagogically based remedial education of children and adults with disorders, defects and impairments of voice, speech and language. In the course of his/her work, he/she often works in collaboration with doctors, psychologists, teachers, physiotherapists, physiotherapists, nurses and other professionals with specialised training in other fields.

How is speech therapy related to dentistry?

Creating a beautiful and well-functioning set of teeth is only partly an orthodontic task. Often, abnormalities of the dentition and occlusion, which are visible to the naked eye, are due to abnormal swallowing function.

Correction of incorrect swallowing is a task that falls within the competence of the speech therapist, but it is also worth looking at the connection the other way around, as correcting mispronounced, distorted speech sounds may also require orthodontic treatment to mechanically manipulate the teeth and tongue.

Irregular swallowing function – myofunctional dysphagia results in changes to the dentition that require orthodontic treatment in the majority of cases. Speech and language therapy in parallel with orthodontic treatment makes it possible, in addition to changing the position of the teeth, to eliminate or modify the forces exerted by the tongue on the dentition inside the mouth and to strengthen the muscles around the lips and mouth.

If the speech therapy is not carried out during the treatment, the teeth may move or return to their previous position after the removal of the fixed appliance. In the case of myofunctional dysfunction, failure to correct atypical swallowing may result in incomplete orthodontic treatment and or the result at the end of the process may not be permanent, so that all or a significant part of the intervention may have to be repeated and corrective treatment may be required in the future.

In what cases do you need a speech and language therapist?

• If the child was born with cleft lip and/or palate or other developmental abnormalities.
• If speech does not start on time (delayed speech development).
• If language development does not follow the typical path but deviates from it (language disorder).
• If the child’s speech is still difficult to understand at the age of 5-6 years (articulation disorder).
• If the child has speech reading and comprehension problems.
• If the child has partial ability problems at preschool or school age.
• In case of swallowing dysphagia, often detected by a dentist or orthodontist.
• In case of dysphonia (hoarse, slurred voice, vocal cord nodules, polyp).
• If the patient stutters or has a stammer.
• If the patient suffers a total or partial loss of speech or speech understanding (aphasia, dysautonomia) due to a traumatic brain injury.

What will happen at the speech therapist’s first appointment?

At the first consultation, an assessment and treatment plan will be set up. During the examination, we will look at the static state of the speech organs and the functioning of the mouth-related functions and any problems. The patient will provide information about his/her medical history, speech (and movement) development, oral habits, previous dental and orthodontic treatment, any complaints related to the inner oral cavity and the external speech organs (e.g. In cooperation with the patient, I also examine the condition and structure of the muscles associated with the face and swallowing, occlusion, growth rates of the facial cranium, length of the lingual frenum, tongue movements and voice production.

The first session lasts approximately 60 minutes.

What will be the rest of the process?

The speech and language assessment is followed by regular speech and language therapy (myofunctional therapy). This is a muscular therapy that accompanies orthodontics in order to force-balance movements, to optimize the resting and active states, movements and forces of the muscles, and to eliminate possible over- and under-activities of the muscles.

Where necessary, the complexity of effective treatment is ensured by orthopaedic or movement therapies to support whole-body symmetry and harmony.

What does a myofunctional trainer do?

The most common problems for which trainer treatment helps:

• overcoming “over time” (over 2 years of age) finger sucking or sucking the pacifier,
• mouth breathing,
• correcting the positioning of growing teeth,
• preparing and shortening the orthodontic process,
• the proper development of the jawbones,
• the complex treatment of speech therapy associated with tongue thrust or lip-pressure swallowing,
• correcting dysfunction of the jaw joint and muscle dysfunction.

In these cases, the harmony of the muscle forces is disturbed and one of their functions becomes predominant to the detriment of other muscle functions.

Their use can reduce, and in some cases eliminate, the need for subsequent fixed orthodontic treatment, reduce the number of cases requiring tooth extraction and reduce recurrence following fixed treatment by harmonising the muscle forces.

How much does the treatment cost?

The initial consultation at Trendo Dental dental practice costs 27 500 HUF, which includes a 60-minute full examination and the setting up of a treatment plan. This is followed by a speech therapy session (30 minutes per session), which costs 20 990 Ft per session. During the therapy, a check-up is required at intervals determined by the speech therapist, at a cost of HUF 19 000. Myofunctional trainer costs 42 500 Ft.

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