Why Your Baby's Speech Problems May Be Related To His Or Her Orofacial Development

While speech errors are quite common, children usually get over them by the time they reach eight years. If your child doesn't get over the errors, then it's possible that he or she is dealing with speech impairment. There are several causes of speech impairment. For example, problems with orofacial have been shown to cause some forms of speech problems. 

Why It Happens

Speaking involves the participation of different parts of the face. The major participants include the teeth, lips and tongue, so a malfunction in any of these areas interferes with speech. When a person speaks, his or her tongue takes a particular shape and pushes air around in the mouth. Imperfect or missing teeth interfere with this airflow, and the words do not come out as intended. The same thing happens with imperfections in other parts of the mouth and face.  

What You May Notice

In most cases, it results in articulation problems where the child knows what he or she wishes to say but the words do not come out correctly. Apart from articulation, you may also notice that the child isn't talking as much as his or her age mates, is stuttering, or has a limited vocabulary.

Specific Causes

Disorders of the jaws, face, lips and other parts of the face that help with speech have several various causes such as:

• Improper oral habits – some children like to grind their teeth, bite their nails or suck their thumbs. Such habits can affect them because their orofacial features and structures are still developing at this time.
• Enlarged tonsils – enlarged tonsils block the nasal airwaves the situation improves if the condition is corrected.
• Allergies – this happens when allergens trigger inflammatory responses from the body that block the nasal airway and cause the same effect as the enlarged tonsils. The effect is worse with recurrent allergic reactions.
• Congenital defects – some children are born with congenital defects that affect their speech. For example, if the frenum (the tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the mouth) is short or tight, then the child may find it difficult to lift his or her tongue to speak properly.

This is why you should be careful about all your child's development problems. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected by a combination of dental treatments and myofunctional therapies. In some cases, your child may even need oral surgery to correct the physical problem and (hopefully) the speech impairment. Contact a local professional, such as one from A Wild Smile, for further assistance.