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What is an Oral Mechanism Examination?
An oral mechanism examination is a medical evaluation designed to assess the physical condition and function of the mouth, and related structures. A variety of professionals may carry out an oral mechanism exam, including dentists, doctors, and speech therapists. The oral mechanism evaluation may form part of a full head and neck exam, or may be performed in isolation. These examinations are commonly used to diagnose the causes of many different kinds of speech disorders.
The first part of the oral mechanism examination is usually a comprehensive assessment of the facial structure and the physical characteristics of the oral cavity. All of the relevant structures are included in the exam, such as the teeth, the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the jaw, the throat, and the tonsils. Some physical abnormalities that may be discovered, such as a cleft palate, may be quite obvious even to an untrained eye. However, a trained specialist will generally also be able to detect much more subtle malformations. The size and symmetry of all the organs will be checked, as sometimes even a small deviation in, for example, bone shape, can cause a problem with vocalization.
In some cases, the structure of all of the relevant organs is normal, but the function may be impaired. Therefore, the oral mechanism examination also includes an assessment of the movement and functionality of the mouth, and its related organs. Typically, the professional performing the examination will instruct the patient to make certain sounds, or say specific words, while making a detailed observation of various movements of the jaw and oral structures. The jaw function is assessed, along with the ability of the facial muscles to perform normal facial control, the movement of the tongue, the soft palate, and the rest of the mouth.
A large variety of functional problems may be detected during an oral mechanism examination. For example, paralysis of a certain group of oral muscles may result in an inability to raise the soft palate when talking, causing the voice to sound nasal. Another example might be weakened muscles on one side of the tongue, which could cause slurred speech.
The oral mechanism examination is generally a non-invasive procedure. Minimal discomfort is normally involved, and these exams are regularly performed on young children, as well as on adults. These assessments are important in either discovering or eliminating physical problems that may be at the root of undiagnosed speech disorders.
Discussion Comments
As to stuttering being caused by psychological trauma, tThat is actually one of the most widely upheld myths about the disorder.
@Mor - That's true of speech disorders that develop in young children, or in people who have obviously suffered a recent trauma.
But in people who seem to spontaneously develop a speech disorder there is probably something else going on. It could be one of the things mentioned in the article, something which has happened to the mouth of the person in question.
Or it could be a problem with their brain. People don't realize how specialized the brain is when it comes to speech. We learned in my biology class that a problem in one small area can affect the ability to say sentences, for example, although the person might understand them very well.
They often show this on medical TV programs, where a person might be spouting gibberish and think they are talking very well, or might suddenly be unable to say a single word without slurring.
If this suddenly happened to me I would take myself straight to the doctor.
This makes me think of the movie "The Kings Speech". I wish that all people with speech disorders have a physical difference that could easily be overcome once it is discovered.
And even in the film, they showed that doing some exercises involving his tongue and his jaw and voice did help a lot.
But, I think a lot of the time speech disorders end up being psychological in nature. Often children who have experienced a trauma will stop speaking for a while, for example. If if they are teased, or treated badly they might develop a stutter.
It's important to consider all the possible contributions to a speech disorder when it is being diagnosed.
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