ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in interocclusal distance (IOD) during pronunciation of /m/ and /s/ sounds in Brazilian Portuguese, in patients presenting dental wear due to bruxism, before and after placement of a stabilization appliance and restorative treatment. METHODS: Subjects were divided into a control group of 19 patients with no dental wear and an experimental group of 18 patients presenting dental wear on anterior teeth due to bruxism. A stabilization appliance was placed in each patient in the experimental group and anterior teeth were restored. A magnetic jaw-tracking device measured the interocclusal distance during pronunciation of /m/ and /s/ phonemes. Interocclusal distance for the experimental group was evaluated one week before and again immediately before the appliance was inserted and 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month and 2 months after appliance insertion. The same evaluation was performed 7 days and 1 month after restorative treatment. In the control group, the measurements were carried out at the same intervals. RESULTS: Comparison between groups revealed a significant difference (P<0.05) in interocclusal distance for the /m/ sound at all evaluation intervals. No differences were found before and after appliance insertion and restorative treatment with either phoneme. CONCLUSION: Stabilization appliance therapy and restorative treatment of subjects with dental wear did not change the interocclusal distance during speech of /m/ and /s/ sounds in the Brazilian Portuguese language, however, when compared with normal subjects, the IOD values were higher for the dental wear group during pronunciation of the /m/ sound.