2000 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 55-63
We report the results of the retrospective study conducted during the period between April，1999 and December，1999．Forty subjects studied consisted of 21 males and 19 females including those treated at the rehabilitation clinic for dysphagia established in the Faculty of Dentistry，Niigata University，in October，1999．Their ages ranged from 2.5 to 94 years．According to primary diagnoses，they suffered from oral cancer (n＝14)，stroke (n＝8)， dementia (n＝8)，Parkinson's disease (n＝3)，congenital myopathy (n＝3) and other diseases (n＝4)．Of 40 patients suffering from swallowing disorder，26 patients were placed on tube feeding and underwent the first medical examination (65％)．After the introduction of rehabilitation，they showed the improvement of symptoms to the level of oral feeding．The results obtained in the present study suggested the effectiveness of the therapeutic approach using rehabilitation in the patients with sub-acute disease who showed the symptoms of dysphagia．ln the clinical practice，it was difficult for dentists to take sufficient care of inpatients， outpatients and home care patients with dysphagia．Since the establishment of the rehabilitation clinic for dysphagia，more effective therapeutic approach has been taken to improve swallowing disorder．
