Extraction of primary maxillary incisors and children’s speech production: A case series

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication: 

Hurley, C. R., McLeod, S., & Anthonappa, R. P. (2024, in press). Extraction of primary maxillary incisors and children’s speech production: A case series. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2024.2355481

Here is the abstract:

Dental caries (tooth decay) is a disease with a significant global burden. Management may necessitate the extraction of teeth to restore oral health. The association between dental extractions and children’s speech is unclear, with clinical implications for speech-language pathologists and dentists. This case series describes a prospective study reporting the impact of primary maxillary incisor teeth extraction on speech sound accuracy for three children (C1 aged 5;6 (years;months), C2 aged 4;6, C3 aged 3;10). Their speech was assessed using the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) and the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) before (T1) and 1 month after dental treatment (T2). Speech analysis included the percentage of consonants correct (PCC) and error type analyses. Caregiver and child perception of the child’s oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) were assessed pre-and post-operatively using a modified Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5). At T1 all three children scored >1 standard deviation below the mean on normative data in the DEAP. There was no clinically significant change in PCC for any child (C1 T1:89.6%, T2:90.6%, C2 T1:78.0%, T2:75.9%, C3 T1:56.1%, T2:63.1%). OHRQoL measures were improved for C1 by the carergiver report and remained stable for C2 and C3 and all child reports. Speech sound difficulties were present before dental treatment in all participants and extraction of primary maxillary incisors did not significantly impact speech production. Dental extractions appear to be independent from speech production in this case series of preschool children.

This paper documents part of the research undertaken by Caitlin during her Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Western Australia supervised by Robert Anthonappa and myself. She presented this work at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association Conference in Salzburg last year. Congratulations Caitlin!

Congratulations Caitlin on the submission of your DClinDent thesis

Congratulations to Caitlin Hurley who is submitting her thesis titled "The impact of maxillary incisor extractions on children's speech" for her Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry (Paediatric Dentistry)(DClinDent) at the University of Western Australia tomorrow. She will be sharing her work with the following examiners: Prof Nicola Innes (Cardiff), Prof Nigel King (Hong Kong Kong, SAR China), and AProf John Winters (Perth Childrens Hospital, WA). It has a pleasure to be her associate supervisor and to support her important research. 

Speech and teeth: Working with Caitlin in three countries

I am co-supervising Caitlin Hurley's research for her Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry that she is undertaking at the University of Western Australia. Over the past two months we have worked together in three countries: Australia, Austria and New Zealand.

Analysing speech data at The University of Auckland, NZ

ICPLA19 - Poster presentations

Australians have presented three posters at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association (ICPLA) symposium:

• Poster #17 Caitlin Hurley, Sharynne McLeod and Robert Anthonappa: Children’s speech and premature loss of primary maxillary incisors
• Poster # 27 Sharynne McLeod and Julie Marshall: Accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals requires communication
• Poster #36 Kate Crowe, Harpa Stefánsdóttir, Egill Magnússon, Mark Guiberson, Thora Másdóttir, Ösp Vilberg Baldursdóttir and Inga Ágústsdóttir: How is speech intelligibility measured for children who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing

Caitlin Hurley and Sharynne

Kate Crowe

Kate Crowe and Sharynne

Congratulations Caitlin Hurley - Morita Prize for research - 29th International Association of Paediatric Dentistry congress

Congratulations to Caitlin Hurley who was awarded the Morita Prize for research at the 29th International Association of Paediatric Dentistry congress in Maastricht. Her research is quite uniqe as she used her professional expertise in both dentistry and speech pathology by undertaking speech assessments with the children - then extracting their teeth! Here is Caitlin's response to receiving the award:

It was such a surprise to receive the Morita Prize for research at the 29th IAPD congress in Maastricht yesterday. The congress is the largest meeting of paediatric dentistry and was attended by over 1200 delegates representing over 78 countries! They had received over 500 abstracts, and so I was already honoured to have my poster selected to be one of around 30 to be considered for this prize. During the presentation the judges were very interested in the IPA transcription on the poster, and also asked me what's next... we will see! This award really does mean a lot to me, and I know that without yourself and Robert this would not have been possible. I've attached a photo from the opening ceremony, and another with Prof Figen Seymen, the incoming president of the association who presented the award.

(I am intrigued by the trombones and sousaphone at the opening ceremony!)

Stats meeting between surgery

Thanks Caitilin for a very efficient quick meeting in between your surgical patients today! It is fun working with a person who is a speech pathologist and a dentist and a researcher. The data look great. The reliability looks great. We are almost ready to present this at our upcoming international conference.

Data collection finished

Congratulations to Caitlin Hurley who has finished collecting data for her Doctorate in Clinical Dentistry. Ten children have received dental surgery (teeth extractions) and have had their speech tested before and after surgery. Perceptual data also have been collected from families and children. Now for data analysis.

Caitlin Hurley with her supervisors Sharynne and Robert