2024 Volume 62 Issue 2 Pages 39-43
The Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Outpatient Clinic provides support for children with delays or abnormalities in feeding and swallowing during their growth period. In this study, 45 children (28 boys and 17 girls) who attended our pediatric dental clinic in the last 7 years and 4 months (from 1 April 2015 to 31 July 2022) were examined at their first visit and the results were tabulated.
The mean age at first visit was 3 years and 8 months, ranging from 6 months to 11 years and 5 months. Children aged 1 to 3 years accounted for 67% of the total. Twenty-two children were full-term births and 16 were preterm births (including 6 very preterm and 7 extremely preterm). At birth, 25 weighed more than 2,500 g and 19 weighed less than 2,500 g (including 4 less than 1,500 g and 8 less than 1,000 g). Motor development was delayed in 14 children with gross motor development. The most common condition was Down syndrome (11 patients), followed by autism spectrum disorder (7 patients). Fifteen patients were referred from the pediatric department of this hospital. The chief complaints were lack of mastication (14 patients), difficulty in swallowing (8 patients) and difficulty in eating solid food (7 patients). The most common method of feeding was oral intake only (27 patients), followed by oral intake and milk feeding (10 patients), and tube feeding was required in 5 patients. In the future, it is important to continue to provide support for children with feeding and swallowing problems in collaboration with medical, dental and community services, while conveying the importance of attending a medical facility that can provide feeding and swallowing support from an early age.
