Title
Speech intelligibility outcomes in maxillectomy patients rehabilitated with obturators prostheses: A prospective study
Authors
Pritha Negi1,*, Deeksha Kallala2, Sunil Kumar Gulia3, Raghavendra Sumanth Phani Challa4, Rigzin Motup5, Abhishek Gaur6, Rahul Tiwari7 & Heena Dixit Tiwari8
Affiliation
1Department of Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge, K. M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; 2Department of quality management, Ryan White Quality Management Coordinator, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SGT University, Gurugram, Badli, Jhajjar, Haryana, India; 4Department of Dentistry, AEGD Program, NYU Langone Health and Chief Dental Officer, Holyoke health center, 230 Maple Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA; 5Department of Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge, Indira Gandhi Government Dental College, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India; 6Department of Periodontology, Seema Dental College & Hospital,Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India; 7Department of Dental Research Cell, Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College & Hospital, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, India; 8Department of blood cell, Programme Officer, Blood Cell, Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Telangana, Hyderabad, Telangana, India; *Corresponding author
Pritha Negi - E-mail: 1prithanegi@gmail.com
Deeksha Kallala - E-mail: rdeeksha789866@gmail.com
Sunil Kumar Gulia - E-mail:
drgulia10@gmail.com
Raghavendra Sumanth Phani Challa - E-mail: schalla79@gmail.com
Rigzin Motup - E-mail: rigzinmotup12@gmail.com
Abhishek Gaur - E-mail:
abhishekgaur5005@gmail.com
Rahul Tiwari - E-mail: rahul.tiwari@dpu.edu.in
Heena Dixit Tiwari - E-mail: drheenatiwari@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received March 1, 2026; Revised March 31, 2026; Accepted March 31, 2026, Published March 31, 2026
Abstract
Maxillectomy results in disruption of palatal continuity and oral–nasal separation, leading to significant impairment of speech intelligibility and communication that requires effective rehabilitative intervention. Hence, this prospective study assessed the speech quality of 30 patients recovering from maxillectomy who were fitted with prostheses for the obturators at baseline, 3 and six months post-insertion. The scores of intelligibility reported by patients and blinded evaluation ratings of evaluators were statistically significant improvements over time. Scores for the average patient increased by 2.03 + 0.45 at initial assessment to 4.23 + 0.57 after 6 months. Evaluation scores increased from 11.87 ± 0.40 → 3.32 ± 0.48 → 4.10 ± 0.46. Thus, we show that obturators prosthetic therapy leads to significant improvements in speech quality in the first few months of follow-up.
Keywords
Speech quality, obturators, prosthetic therapy, maxillectomy, malignant tumor
Citation
Negi et al. Bioinformation 22(3): 1425-1428 (2026)
Edited by
Vini Mehta
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
