Impact of 3-dimensional anatomical changes secondary to orthognathic surgery on voice resonance and articulatory function: a prospective study.

An evaluation was made of the impact of orthognathic surgery (OS) on speech, addressing in particular the effects of skeletal and airway changes on voice resonance characteristics and articulatory function. A prospective study was carried out involving 29 consecutive patientssubjected to OS. Preoperative, and short and long-term postoperative evaluations were made of anatomical changes (skeletal and airway measurements), speech evolution (assessed objectively by acoustic analysis: fundamental frequency, local jitter, local shimmer of each vowel, and formants F1 and F2 of vowel /a/), and articulatory function (use of compensatory musculature, point of articulation, and speech intelligibility).