Dysphagia Diet In-Service Jeff Seborer & Haley Powers

What is dysphagia? Trouble chewing, swallowing, or both 3 of the most common types of dysphagia Oral dysphagia: trouble chewing due to missing teeth or weakness of the jaw, lips, cheeks, or tongue Pharyngeal dysphagia: trouble protecting airway when swallowing Oropharyngeal dysphagia: combination

Why dysphagia diets matter Help patients chew and swallow food safely Helps to prevent: Aspiration: food, liquid, or saliva entering our airway(lungs) Aspiration Pneumonia: Lung infection caused by fluid in the lungs Dehydration Malnutrition

When are dysphagia diets needed? Speech and Language Pathologist can do a swallow evaluation to determine if diet changes are needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sFNMk87558 Example swallow evaluation

Thickened Liquids Good for patients who have trouble swallowing Stays together and moves slower than thin liquids Thin: water, milk, fruit juice, broth Nectar-Thick: pourable and runs readily from a spoon (cream soups and buttermilk) Honey Thick: beads when poured from a spoon and usually requires a thickener (honey, tomato sauce) Pudding Thick: keeps form when spooned or put in a bowl and usually requires a thickener (pudding, custard, yogurt) NOTE: Jell-O, ice cream, fruit ice, and creamer cannot be thickened!

Dysphagia Diets: Pureed Good for patients with no teeth, no gag reflex, mouth surgery, stroke, head trauma, or dementia Foods do not need to be chewed and have a smooth, pudding-like texture

Pureed Diet: Foods to Avoid Whole breads, rolls, muffins Desserts with nuts, seeds, dried fruits Fruits with skins and seeds that cannot be blended to a smooth texture Meats that cannot be blended smoothly, peanut butter Raw vegetables that cannot be blended smoothly, vegetables with seeds, fibers, skin Fried, crisp potatoes, potato chips Pepper, nuts, seeds, popcorn, pickles, olives, jam, preserves Dry cereal

Dysphagia Diets: Mechanical Soft Good for patients with trouble chewing or swallowing, recent intubation, chemotherapy or surgery to the head or mouth. Diced, minced, and ground food that is easily chewed; moistened Diced: 1/8” – 1/4” Ground/Minced: 1/8” or less Chopped: 1/4” – 1/2”

Mechanical Soft diet: Foods to Avoid Dry or tough meats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, beef tips, peanut butter, cheese cubes/slices, fried/hard cooked eggs, nuts and seeds Bread products, buns, bagels, rolls, pizza, rice, granola, crispy/fried foods, popcorn, crackers, chips Fresh or frozen fruit, dried fruits, pineapple, oranges Raw vegetables, salads, corn, peas, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus Soups with chunks larger than 1/2 inch Hard cookies/candy, gum, chewy candy/desserts Olives, pickles

Dysphagia Diet: Mechanical Advanced Good for patients moving to a regular diet, good teeth and chewing ability, can handle mixed textures Moist, bite-sized foods that are not too hard, sticky, or crunchy Similar to mechanical soft but with addition of soft breads, soft pasta, and moist rice

Mechanical Advanced: Foods to Avoid Dry or tough meats, fish with bones, peanut butter, nuts and seeds Bagels, dry bread, toast, crackers, course/dry cereal, granola, French bread/baguette, crispy/fried foods, popcorn, chips Apples, pears, grapes, raisins, pineapple, oranges, coconut Raw vegetables, salads, corn, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, crisp fried potatoes, potato skins Soups with tough meats, corn, or clam chowder, pieces bigger than 1” Hard cookies/candy, gum, chewy candy/desserts Olives, pickles

Questions?

Quiz Time!