R TO, V WONG, Y HUI, W GOH, A YUNG, C LEE, P SIT

Abstract

A pilot project for children who attended the Drooling Clinic at the Children's Habilitation Institute of the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital was conducted. The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of the Oro-motor Habilitation Program in reducing drooling. The Program consisted of oro-motor function training, behavioral modification program, motor control training, the use of oral appliances and surgical treatment. The study group consisted of 12 children with varying degrees of drooling problem, cerebral palsy and mental retardation (N=7) and mental deficiency (N=5). Visual analogue scale and Drooling Quotient (DQ) were used to measure the severity of drooling before and after the Oro-motor Habilitation Program. Improvement occurred in 75% of children after receiving the Oro-motor Rehabilitation Program for 6 months, 86 % for cerebral palsy, 60% for mental deficiency. We propose to provide a trial of Oromotor Habilitation Program before embarking on surgical treatment of drooling.