Use of a sibilant phoneme registration protocol to prevent upper airway collapse in patients with TMD

Gurdev Dave Singh & Steven Olmos
© Springer-Verlag 2007
Patients with temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) require correction of mandibular position, but the ideal position for the mandible remains controversial. Miralles et al. [1] found the amount of freeway space (FS) required depended on the protocol used to measure it. For example, a significantly higher clinical FS value was found using a phonetic method than after swallowing or with the mandible in a relaxed postural position. A sibilant is the hissing or whistling sound heard in the formation of certain letters in speech, such as the letter “s.” A phoneme is the smallest unit of speech that defines one sound from another.

Thus, a sibilant phoneme registration (SPR) protocol is colloquially known as a ‘phonetic bite’. Patients with TMD secondary to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) inflammation (retrodiscitis), disc displacement, or disc dislocation require an antero-posterior (AP) correction inter alia.

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