This paper reports on the development of an improved method for testing the swallowing function (The Swallowing Ability Seale) which has been designed to assess dysphagia after therapy for oral and oropharyngeal cancer. The instrument consists of a 2-step questionnaire: an MTF score and a dysphagia score. The MTF score is a simple and practical assessment tool consisting of three subscales: 1) Method of intake, 2) Time of intake, and 3) Food. The dysphagia score is an assessment tool for defining patients' anatomic or physiologic swallowing disorders. The scale was administered to 23 oral and oropharyngeal cancer patients. The dysphagia score significantly decreased after wide dissection of the tongue, and clearly distinguished between differences in ability before and after rehabilitation. We also found a correlation between the MTF score and the dysphagia score. The results indicated that the scale is reliable and sensitive to functional differences across a broad spectrum of oropharyngeal dysphagia after therapy for oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
