Objective To investigate the correlation between articulation of pressure-sensitive phonemes and nasal/facial grimace of patients with repaired cleft palate. Methods This study included 98 patients of repaired cleft palate with nasal/facia during speech. Each patient underwent subjective speech assessment. The incidence and distribution of nasal/facial grimace during pressure-sensitive phonemes were summarized focusing on manners and places of articulation. Results The articulation manners of the highest incidence rate for nasal grimace were stops 57.14% (56 cases), fricati-ves 51.02% (50 cases), and affricates 35.71% (35 cases), whereas those for facial grimace were 42.86% (42 cases), 38.78% (38 cases), and 30.61% (30 cases). The articulation area of the highest incidence rate for nasal and facial grimace was bilabial, the lowest incidence rate was guttural, and other consonants, including lingua-palatal, blade-alveolar, alveolar, velar, and supradental. Conclusion Facial grimace is the most common speech disorder of patients with cleft palate, occurring in all stops, fricatives, and affricates. With the same articulation manners, the incidence of facial grimace decreased as the articulation places moved back. The children with severe consonant loss and compensation had minimal facial grimace.
