Assessment
Identification of the cause of sialorrhoea and assessment of its severity, frequency and impact on quality of life for the patient and their carers should be carried out to help establish a suitable therapeutic regimen.5,10 Discussion with healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines is recommended.1
Clinical examination and assessment should focus on the following areas:
Oral Motor Control
- Size, movement and neurology of the tongue5
- Feeding, drinking and swallowing5,10
- Children with oral motor control difficulties may have difficulty manipulating food in the mouth, as well as drooling17
- Jaw stability5
- Speech10
- Children with oral motor control difficulties may have speech problems, as well as drooling17
Social Evaluation
- Impact of sialorrhoea1
- Establish how often bibs or clothes need to be changed11
- Establish whether there is evidence that self-esteem or interactions with others are affected.11 Parental judgement may not be sufficient to evaluate the impact of drooling on social interaction fully; teacher reports additional to those of parents may provide a more realistic impression of social interaction31
- Intrinsic motivation1
- Self-management abilities1
- Importance of saliva control to the family1
- Age and mental status5
