- Alveolar ridge
- The bony ridge of the maxilla containing the teeth.
- Audible nasal emission
- Nasal air escape associated with production of consonants requiring high oral pressure. Audible nasal emission refers to nasal emission that can be heard.
- Articulation
- The process of forming speech sounds.
- Bilateral cleft
- A cleft on both sides of a lip or palate.
- Cleft
- A split or separation.
- Cleft lip
- A congenital split in the upper lip.
- Cleft palate
- A congenital split in the roof of the mouth.
- Compensatory articulations
- The articulators (tongue or soft palate) are placed inappropriately so as to enable correct creation of certain sounds.
- Congenital
- A disease, deformity, or deficiency existing at the time of birth.
- Eustachian tube
- The air duct which connects the nasopharynx (back of the throat) with the middle ear; usually closed at one end, opens with yawning and swallowing: allows ventilation of the middle ear cavity and equalization of pressure on two sides of the eardrum.
- Fistula
- An abnormal opening or gap.
- Genetics
- The science of heredity.
- Hard palate
- The bony part of the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth.
- Hypernasality
- Greater than normal nasal resonance during speech.
- Hyponasality
- Denasality. A lack of normal nasal resonance during speech.
- Inaudible nasal emission
- Nasal air escape associated with production of consonants requiring high oral pressure. Inaudible nasal emission refers to nasal emission that cannot be heard.
- Malocclusion
- A deviation from normal occlusion or incorrect positioning of the upper teeth in relation to the lower teeth.
- Mandible
- The lower jaw bone.
- Maxilla
- The upper jaw.
- Myringotomy & tubes
- A minor surgical procedure in which a small slit is made in the eardrum to allow fluid to drain from the middle ear. A ventilation tube may be placed to keep this space open.
- Nasal emission
- An abnormal flow of air through the nose during speech. Usually indicative on an incomplete seal between oral and nasal cavities.
- Nasometer
- A microcomputer that measures air escape through the mouth and nose when producing high oral pressure consonant sounds.
- Phoneme specific nasal emission
- When a child produces nasal emission on certain sounds, and not all pressure sounds. This indicates that the child has developed a learned behavior and produces these sounds incorrectly, not that they are unable to produce these sounds correctly.
- Soft palate
- The movable part of the roof of the mouth behind the hard palate.
- Unilateral cleft
- A cleft on one side of the lip or palate.
- Velopharyngeal Incompetence
- Failure of the soft palate to meet the posterior pharyngeal wall and form a barrier to separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity during correctly produced speech.