MAXILLOFACIAL PROSTHETICS l DENTAL IMPLANTS SECTION EDITORS

lh e tongue is one of the most frequent sites for cancer, representing 26% of all oral cancers and 0.7% of all carcinomas.’ It is also one of the most devastating tumors from a psychosocial standpoint. Although the size, type, and location of tongue lesions determine the mode and aggressiveness of treatment, surgery with or without adjunctive therapy remains the treatment of choice. Regardless of the extent of the surgical resection, loss of the tongue leaves the patient with varying degrees of impairment of mastication, deglutition, and speech. For the patient who has undergone total or partial glossectomy, rehabilitation of speech is the most important factor in reestablishing interpersonal communication. After surgery, voice quality and resonance are compromised because of changes in oral cavity volume, and articulation is affected because the tongue is unable to assume the normal positions that provide the valving actions needed for precise articulation. In addition to nutrition, rehabilitation of swallowing also plays an important role in socialization because nearly all socialization centers around eating or drinking.2 A number of clinicians have reported the use of prostheses to improve speech and swallowing.3-7 Most of these reports have only examined the effects of the prosthesis on communication and deglutition in a general way. This study was designed to examine the effects of a maxillary prosthesis on the specific swallowing physiology and articulatory characteristics of patients with 50% glossectomy. The maxillary prosthesis used in this study lowers and recontours the palatal vault to permit contact of the remaining portion of the tongue with the prosthesis during speech and swallowing.