Objective This study investigated the influence of Hawley retainer and vacuum-formed retainer on the articulation of Chinese speech of adult orthodontic patients.Methods A total of 20 volunteers were recruited in this randomized controlled trial in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Participants were randomly distributed into two groups, namely, the Hawley retainer group and the vacuum-formed retainer group. Speech performance was evaluated at the following time intervals: before wearing retainers (T0), immediately after wearing both upper and lower retainers (T1), 24 h later (T2), 1 week later (T3), and 1 month later (T4). The phonetic parameters were acquired through the use of computer-based voice analysis software Praat version 5.4.21, and the final data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0.Results Both retainers can influence the phonetic parameters of vowels /e/, /i/, and /ü/ and consonants /s/, /f/, /x/, /t/, /j/, and /q/. However, the Hawley retainer showed a more remarkable effect on the articulation of Chinese speech, and the distortion of /i/, /ü/, and /s/ sounds can last for more than 1 month. Nevertheless, the recovery period of the patients’phonetic function in the vacuum-formed retainer group was within 1 month.Conclusion Both retainers can induce distortion of some Chinese vowels and consonants in the speech of adult orthodontic patients, but the Hawley retainer can more significantly influence the articulation of Chinese speech than vacuum-formed retainer.
