Purpose: to know the profile of members of the Brazilian Association of Orofacial Motricity and their knowledge and interest on laser therapy in Orofacial Motricity. Methods: an online form was elaborated covering questions about the speech therapist’s profile, training, and acting, as well as his/her knowledge about the theories of laser therapy and its clinical application. The form was sent via e-mail to members of the Brazilian Association of Orofacial Motricity - ABRAMO, registered in the year 2015. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and the Spearman’s correlation test. Results: only 5 (19.2%) out of the 26 participants reported having contact with laser equipment, and of these, only 1 (3.8%) used it in his/her practice. Regarding knowledge of the method, only 2 (7.7%) were trained, and the majority, 14 speech therapists (53.8%), had an interest in acquiring knowledge on this subject. Speech therapists with a longer training period were unaware of laser therapy (p = 0.03) and did not agree on the use (p = 0.01), but claimed to be interested in the subject (p = 0.05). Conclusion: it was possible to verify that the interest in improvement and insertion in the clinical practice in laser therapy are realities for the research volunteers, but a very small number has the knowledge and makes use of the technique in their interventions.

Purpose Investigate and measure the effects of electrostimulation on the orofacial musculature and on the chewing, breathing and swallowing functions of individuals with Down syndrome. Methods Study participants were 16 individuals with Down syndrome (six males and 10 females) from an institutional extension project aged nine to 25 years. Speech-language pathology assessment was performed using the protocol of Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation with Scores (OMES) pre- and post-intervention. This protocol comprised eight weekly electrostimulation sessions. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) current was used at a frequency of 10Hz in warm-up and 30Hz in application, intermittent stimulation (cycling pulses) with ON-time of 5s and OFF-time of 10s common to both stages, and pulse width of 200μs in warm-up and 250μs in application. Results Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-application of FES regarding cheek appearance (flaccidity and arching), tongue mobility (right and left laterality), and musculature behavior during performance of functions of the stomatognathic system: respiration, deglutition (lip behavior), and mastication (bite and trituration). Conclusion Effects of electrostimulation associated with masticatory training of the masseter muscles were statistically identified, with functional gains in chewing, breathing and swallowing performance in individuals with Down syndrome.

Objective: to verify the content evidence of a spectrographic analysis protocol. Methods: a methodological study in which five speech therapists who assessed the clarity and the relevance of the protocol were selected. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was used to investigate the level of agreement among judges regarding overall aspects, items and domains of the protocol. Results: most judges considered the overall aspects of the protocol as comprehensive. As for clarity, 17 items showed an excellent content validity (CVI ≥ 0.78), three showed a good content validity (0.60 ≤ CVI ≤ 0.77) and two items were judged as poor (CVI ≤ 0.59). As for relevance, 19 items obtained an excellent content validity (CVI ≥ 0.78) and three had a good content validity (0.60 ≤ CVI ≤ 0.77). The judges suggested adding items related to vocal signal normality in all domains. After the analysis, 18 items required no reformulation, five items were added, three were reformulated and one was excluded. Conclusion: the proposed protocol was regarded as a comprehensive one. The items presented a good to excellent content validity as for clarity and relevance. After this validation step, the protocol ended up presenting 25 items distributed into five domains.

Objective The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in patients with primary headaches attended in a tertiary neurology ambulatory.Method Authorized by the Ethics Committee, the present cross-sectional study was conducted with a random sample of patients screened for orofacial pain and primary headaches at a tertiary hospital in Northeast of Brazil.Results The sample consisted in 42 patients with primary headache, 59.5% male. The prevalence of > 6 TMD signs and symptoms was 54.8%. In those patients with migraine TMD was present in 71.4% and in tension-type headache in 38.1% (p = 0.030; OR = 4.1). TMD was related to the clinical status of headache associated or attributed to medication overuse (p = 0.001).Conclusion TMD has a high prevalence in patients with primary headaches (54.8%). Special attention must be given to patients with migraine and headache associated or attributed to medication overuse.

Speech-language therapy during vocational training led to positive changes in the social behavior of individuals with DS, as evidenced by an increase in their autonomy and communication.

Trigueiro JS, Silva MLS, Brandão RS et al. Objective: To describe the experiences of the participants of the extension project "Educating the educator: Promoting the occupational health of the teacher" during educative initiatives directed towards the teachers´ preservation of the voice awareness. Method: Case of study, descriptive nature that covered teachers of the urban zone of the municipal network of Cuité-PB, performed in the academic semesters of 2012, with weekly workshops that adopted the following steps: Reception dynamic, previous knowledge rescue, explanation about a theme, doubt clarifications and vocal exercises. Results: There was awareness by the teachers regarding the prevention of vocal health, inducing them to reflect about their own habits, above all the unhealthy ones, as well as to correct them. Conclusion: Due to the lack of care with the health of teachers and the importance of life quality changes, the positive response to the project is a feedback of the necessity of the attention to the instructor's health especially vocal health. Descriptors: Worker's health, Instructors, Voice, Health promotion.Objetivo: Descrever a vivência de participantes do projeto de extensão "Educando o educador: promovendo a saúde ocupacional do professor" durante ações educativas direcionadas à conscientização da preservação da voz do professor. Método: Relato de experiência de natureza descritiva que abrangeu professores da zona urbana da rede municipal de ensino de Cuité-PB, realizado nos semestres acadêmicos de 2012, com oficinas semanais que adotaram as seguintes etapas: dinâmica de acolhimento, resgate do conhecimento prévio, explanação acerca do tema, esclarecimento de dúvidas e exercício vocal. Resultados: Houve a sensibilização dos professores quanto à prevenção da saúde vocal, levando-os a refletir sobre seus hábitos, sobretudo, os prejudiciais, para assim corrigi-los. Conclusão: Diante da falta de cuidados com a saúde do professor e da importância de transformação na sua qualidade de vida, a resposta positiva ao projeto é um feedback da necessidade de atenção à saúde docente, principalmente a vocal. Descritores: Saúde do trabalhador, Docentes, Voz, Promoção da Saúde.Objetivo: Describir la vivencia de participantes del proyecto de extensión "Educando el educador: promoviendo la salud ocupacional del profesor" durante acciones educativas direccionadas a la concienciación de la preservación de la voz del profesor. Método: Relato de experiencia de naturaleza descriptiva que alcanzó profesores de la zona urbana de la red municipal de enseñanza de Cuité-PB, realizado en los semestres académicos de 2012, con oficinas semanales que adoptaron las etapas a continuación: dinámica de acogimiento, rescate del conocimiento previo, explanación acerca del tema, aclaración de dudas y ejercicio vocal. Resultados: Hubo la sensibilización de los profesores en cuanto a la prevención de la salud vocal, llevándolos a reflejar sobre sus hábitos, sobre todo los prejudiciales, con vistas a corregirlos. Conclusión: Delante de...

Purpose:To analyze the combined frequency of patient-reported swallowing and voice complaints before thyroidectomy. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 51 interviews of patients referred for partial or total thyroidectomy. The combined frequency of patient-reported swallowing and voice complaints was determined from the median of the total number of related symptoms in each group. We also investigated how patients rated each function (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor) and whether this rating was related to the number of symptoms and the combined frequency. For bivariate analysis, Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test were used. The level of significance was 5%. Results: The combined frequency of patient-reported swallowing and voice complaints before thyroidectomy was 31.4%. The most commonly swallowing-related symptoms were throat clearing after swallowing (39.3%), swallowing effort (37.2%), and choking (35.3%). The most commonly voice-related symptoms were dry throat (72.6%), throat clearing (72.5%), and itchy throat (47%). The total number of symptoms was significantly higher among those who rated swallowing (3.13 ± 2.21) and voice (5.91 ± 2.81) negatively. Negative self-assessment of the voice was associated with the combined frequency of patient-reported swallowing and voice complaints (p=0.003). Conclusion: The combined frequency of patient-reported swallowing and voice complaints before thyroidectomy occurs in one third of the patients and is associated with negative self-assessment of the voice.

Purpose: to evaluate the methodological quality of clinical trials published in Brazilian journals. Methods: four trained independent researchers conducted a systematic literature search of all Brazilian speech therapy-related journals over the last ten years, whether the journals were active or inactive. All journal volumes published during that period were selected, and each researcher conducted an individual analysis to identify articles that focused primarily on orofacial motricity. The tools used were the Downs and Black Quality Checklist and the Jadad scale. Results: after the studies were selected and categorized, the final sample comprised six articles, all of which were classified as clinical trials. The observed methodological limitations included a lack of sample planning, randomization and blinding. Mean scores of 16.3 points on the Downs and Black Quality Checklist and 2.3 on the Jadad scale were obtained. Conclusion: the randomized controlled trials in the area of orofacial motricity are scarce in Brazilian literature, suggesting that studies in this area adopting this research design should be expanded and their quality should be improved to promote clinical practice based on scientific evidence.