Role of Oromotor Therapy in Drooling Child Attending E.N.T Department

Purpose: Drooling is commonly observed in neurologically impaired children and carries a social stigma. Oromotor exercise aims at improving oral phase of deglutination by means of specific exercises for muscles of mandible, lips, tongue and palate. Methods: This prospective study was carried out between May 2012 to December 2014 in Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, a tertiary care centre. 15 children with chronic drooling were taken into this study after inform consent was obtained from parents. The pre and post exercise finding were evaluated using oromotor assessment form and statistically analysed. Results: The severity of drooling- pre exercise was(mean 2.60, SD 0.50) and post exercise was(mean 1.00, SD 0.00) respectively, which is significant (p value less than 0.0001). Similarly frequency of drooling pre exercise was (mean 2.67, SD 0.49) and post exercise was (mean 1.14, SD 0.36) which is significant. Respectively there was a marked improvement in tongue control, lip control, jaw control, and functional oromotor skills which is also statistically significant. (P value less than 0.0001) Conclusions: Oromotor exercise plays an effective role in management of drooling child.