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Updated: May 30, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Bedside assessment of swallowing in elderly subjects using psychotropic drugs
Marisa Portes Fioravanti1, Fernanda Balero Miyahara2, Heloisa Helena Cavallari2
1Master's degree, speech therapist.
Unlabelled:
Neuroleptic drugs are used in several mental disorders, but are suspected of causing oropharyngeal dysphagia, mainly in the elderly.
Aim:
To study the effect of neuroleptic agents on swallowing of institutionalized older people.
Material And Method:
A cross sectional study of swallowing in 47 subjects that either used or did not use neuroleptic drugs. Bedside swallowing tests with foods of four different consistencies were carried out.
Results:
There was no significant difference between the two groups. Users of neuroleptic medications showed a higher percentage of multiple swallowing while non-users had a higher percentage of oral food escape.
Conclusions:
Neuroleptic agents alone do not affect the mechanism of swallowing in the elderly; nonetheless. Further studies with a larger number of individuals and specific swallowing tests are needed.
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