Impact of oral appliance therapy: Are oral skills and growth maintained one year after termination of therapy?

To determine the impact of intraoral appliance (ISMAR) therapy on functiona l feeding skills and growth, children with cerebral palsy and moderate dysp hagia were followed a full year after termination of one year of ISMAR ther apy. Seventeen children. 6.6-15.4 years old (mean age= 10.2 +/- 3.0 years), were divided into two groups: group A (n = 9) continued to wear the applia nce and group B (n = 8) no longer wore the appliance. Generalized estimatin g equations (GEE) were used to test differences between the two groups over time while accounting for the dependence for the repeated within-subject m easurements. No significant differences were found in the 7 domains of func tional feeding. Significant time x group interactions for weight (kg and z- score 0.01 < p < 0.05) were found. However, Post hoc analyses showed that t here were no significant differences in weight changes between the two grou ps at either 18 or 24 months of followup. These results suggest that during a one-year period of followup, maturation was equally effective as ISMAR t herapy.