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Dental Support for Feeding Function in Children

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Some children experience difficulty with oral function, regardless of whether they are healthy, disabled, or sick. This study reported on dental approaches to support children with oral problems.

Recent Findings

A problem with oral function noted among children is lip incompetence. According to a recent survey in Japan, lip incompetence was observed in approximately 30% of children aged 3–12 years. Feeding therapy emphasizing the concept of habilitation (dysphagia rehabilitation) is provided for feeding problems in children with disabilities.

Summary

Dental interventions for children with oral function problems include oral function management for developmental insufficiency of oral function and feeding therapy for feeding disorders. The number of children with medical complexities has rapidly increased in Japan to approximately 20,000. Efforts have been made to provide pediatric home dental services targeting children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities and those with medical complexities who have difficulty going outside the home. Multidisciplinary collaboration in regional healthcare is essential for the smooth provision of dental care services.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Nippon Dental University, Tama Oral Rehabilitation Clinic, Tokyo, Japan

    Fumiyo Tamura, Hiroyuki Yamada, Tomoko Isoda, Noriaki Takahashi, Miki Mizukami, Maiko Ozeki & Takeshi Kikutani

  2. Division of Rehabilitation for Speech and Swallowing Disorders, The Nippon Dental University Hospital, Tama Oral Rehabilitation Clinic, 4-44-19 Higashi-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-0041, Japan

    Fumiyo Tamura, Reiko Machida, Hiroyuki Yamada, Tomoko Isoda, Noriaki Takahashi & Takeshi Kikutani

Authors
  1. Fumiyo Tamura
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  2. Reiko Machida
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  3. Hiroyuki Yamada
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  4. Tomoko Isoda
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  5. Noriaki Takahashi
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  6. Miki Mizukami
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  7. Maiko Ozeki
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  8. Takeshi Kikutani
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Contributions

Fumiyo Tamura had the idea for the article; Reiko Machida, Hiroyuki Yamada, Tomoko Isoda, Noriaki Takahashi, Miki Mizukami, and Maiko Ozeki performed the literature search and data analysis; Fumiyo Tamura drafted the work; and Takeshi Kikutani critically revised the work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fumiyo Tamura.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Tamura, F., Machida, R., Yamada, H. et al. Dental Support for Feeding Function in Children. Curr Oral Health Rep 10, 75–80 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40496-023-00337-0

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