Effect of oral care on drooling and oral health status of children with cerebral palsy in selected hospital Kolkata

This study aims to determine the effect of oral care on drooling and oral health status among children with cerebral palsy aged three to six years in a selected hospital in Kolkata. The study objectives are to assess drooling and oral health status before and after oral care and to evaluate the effectiveness of oral care in reducing drooling and improving oral health. Children aged three to six years diagnosed with cerebral palsy of any type and presenting with drooling will be included. Both male and female children whose primary caregivers give informed consent will participate. The study will follow a quantitative randomized pretest posttest control group design. Sixty children with cerebral palsy with drooling will be selected using simple random sampling and assigned into intervention and control groups with thirty participants in each group. Baseline assessment of drooling and oral health status will be done for both groups. The intervention group will receive a structured oral care intervention package including tooth brushing, rinsing and oral motor stimulation for four weeks. Each child will receive the intervention individually  twenty minutes three days a week. Telephonic reminders will be provided to primary caregivers to continue oral care at home. The control group will receive routine care only. After four weeks post intervention assessment of drooling and oral health status will be done. Drooling will be measured using the Thomas Stonell Greenberg Drooling Scale and oral health status will be measured using the Oral Health Assessment Tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral care intervention.