How to Reduce Drooling in Infants and Toddlers
Posted by Heidi | Filed under Early Language Development
When my daughter Sophie was about 6-14 months old she drooled excessively. She went through bib after bib after bib. I knew that it was more than teething as so many people had suggested. As a Speech Pathologist I had learned that constant drooling may be an indicator of low muscle tone in the mouth. As a result I was determined to do everything I knew how to do to eliminate the drooling, knowing that low muscle tone can also affect speech intelligibility.
I planned to nurse her until she was one year old which made it easy for me to bypass the bottle completely. I weened her straight from nursing to a straw cup. Once Sophie started drinking from a straw cup and I was able to cut her straw down slowly (as I explained in my post on Pacifiers and Sippy Cups, her drooling decreased dramatically. She still drooled a little and so I decided to get her an electric toothbrush.
How the electric toothbrush and straw cup reduce drooling:
The Electric Toothbrush 2x a day can help wake up the mouth by increasing sensitivity. Increased sensitivity makes the child more aware of their drooling.
The straw cup strengthens the tongue so it is able to retract the drool to the back of the mouth to be swallowed.
The combination of the straw cup and the electric toothbrush was the solution for Sophie. I was thrilled to be able to dress her with out a bib, not to mention how happy I was about less laundry! If your child drools it may be worthwhile to give these exercises a try. Let me know if they work for you.
7 Responses to “How to Reduce Drooling in Infants and Toddlers”
Leave a Reply
I am a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and have been working in this field for 10 years. I am also a mother to three fabulous kids who keep me busier than ever! I put together this blog to share some of the tips and tricks that have worked for me over the years in teaching kids to improve their speech and more effectively communicate. Thanks for reading and remember it takes time and patience with this stuff but it is so worth it!
This is wonderful information, I wish had it back when I worked with K! Drooling was a major issue of hers for a long time (and still kind of is, at four).
Drooling can also be caused by food allergies. This is in response to Angela, whose 4 year old K still has drooling problems. Doris Rapp’s book, “Is this Your Child” might help. Local Libraries usually have a copy. On another note (la), this site was recommended on a homeschool list. Thank you for offering it.
I have just come across your website. my daughter has been dribbling since birth and we can go through at least 6 bibs in a day. At 5 1/2 months she was referred to a physio for ?low muscle tone. we saw the speach therapist yesterday and we have exercises such as tapping down the side of her mouth from ear to mouth, and when feeding getting her in a supported position and finger under her chin. Reading more about low muscle tone i now realise why we had some problems with latching on while breast feeding, and was only picked up because we introduced a bottle at 5 1/2 months. Your information is very handy and will keep this in mind as she gets older. thank you
My son is a former 26 weeker preemie. He is now 18 months and we just started speech therapy. He doesn’t drool too much but I notice he walks around with his mouth open a lot. We were told to start the electric tooth brush and the straw cup. My son will suck on the straw if I hold it for him. But if i give him the cup with the straw he just chews on the straw. My question is how long should I work on these exercises with him and when should I start to see results?
Kim,
Your speech therapist has given you great advice. Learning to drink from a straw is a necessary skill to reduce drooling and help improve his speech. Stick with it until he can do it on his own, and then keep doing it! Don’t give in to sippy cups. When he is ready to drink from an open cup you can do that too.
The electric toothbrush is great for increasing oral awareness. Do it at least twice a day when you brush his teeth. The added benefit is you will get his teeth cleaner as well. A win win.
Heidi
thanks to your wonderful articles my 7 month old has learned to drink from a straw and we are seeing some improvement in the drool department. Do you have any suggestions on teaching the electric tooth brush to a baby so young? All the artIcles I’ve found through Google are focused onolder kids.
Sandra,
The purpose of the electric toothbrush is to increase awareness in the mouth. You can definitely use one with your 7 month old even if he/she doesn’t have teeth yet. When you introduce the toothbrush you may even start with it on the hands, then the lips, then move into the mouth. Be sure to stimulate the inside of the cheeks, the tongue and the roof of the mouth. If your baby doesn’t like the whole routine right up front, just try a little everyday until it becomes a little more comfortable. Although, if your baby is teething they may really dislike it. If that is the case, which is likely at seven months start with a terry cloth rag instead. If you allow the rag to air dry before you use it, it will be a little rougher for more stimulation. Best of luck!