Saccomanno Sabina, Quinzi Vincenzo, Santori Federica, Pisaneschi Alessia, Salvati Simone Ettore, Paskay Licia Coceani, Marci Maria Chiara, Marzo Giuseppe
Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT), Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, USA.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2024 Jan 24;14(3):251. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14030251.
The aim of this retrospective study is to explore the introduction of edible spread cream and small candies as tools to improve motivation and compliance in young children undergoing myofunctional therapy, with the purpose of optimizing oral functions, including swallowing.
Six patients, one female and five males, between the ages of 7 and 14 years, presenting with atypical swallowing, were evaluated and treated at the clinic of the University of L'Aquila. The patients included in the study were randomly divided into two groups and were treated with two different treatment protocols: Group A: traditional myofunctional therapy and traditional tools; Group B: same exercises as group A, but with edible tools (spreadable cream and small candies).
As expected, the two patients who used edible tools demonstrated increased motivation and collaboration during myofunctional therapy.
Patient compliance, especially in very young patients, limits the effectiveness of myofunctional therapy; therefore, creative solutions are needed to achieve greater cooperation, and edible tools can play a significant part in retraining correct swallowing. Although the sample of this pilot study is small, the results suggest that using actual edible tools in myofunctional therapy could increase compliance and provide better results in myofunctional therapy.
本回顾性研究旨在探讨引入涂抹式乳膏和小糖果作为改善接受肌功能治疗的幼儿的动机和依从性的工具，以优化包括吞咽在内的口腔功能。
6名年龄在7至14岁之间、存在非典型吞咽问题的患者（1名女性和5名男性）在拉奎拉大学诊所接受评估和治疗。纳入研究的患者被随机分为两组，并采用两种不同的治疗方案进行治疗：A组：传统肌功能治疗及传统工具；B组：与A组相同的练习，但使用可食用工具（可涂抹乳膏和小糖果）。
正如预期的那样，两名使用可食用工具的患者在肌功能治疗期间表现出更高的积极性和合作性。
患者的依从性，尤其是年幼患者的依从性，限制了肌功能治疗的效果；因此，需要创造性的解决方案来实现更好的合作，而可食用工具在重新训练正确吞咽方面可以发挥重要作用。尽管这项初步研究的样本量较小，但结果表明，在肌功能治疗中使用实际的可食用工具可以提高依从性，并在肌功能治疗中取得更好的效果。
