• Drooling
• Sialorrhea

Drooling is expected of every baby, but - after about age 3 or 4 - of no one else. The medical term for drooling is sialorrhea, the pre-fix sialo- referring to saliva, and the suffix, -rhea, to excessive or watery flow.

It's easy to think of drooling as occurring because of an excess of saliva, that somehow way too much saliva is being made. Almost aways, the problem has to do not with additional production, but reduced ability to move the muscles of the tongue and cheeks, and co-ordinate a successful swallow. That can come about from pain, like a very sore throat, and obstruction, like enormously enlarged tonsils. It can also be strictly from difficulty with movement because of neurological reasons.

• Boyce HW. Bakheet MR. Sialorrhea: a review of a vexing, often unrecognized sign of oropharyngeal and esophageal disease. [Review] [117 refs] [Comparative Study. Journal Article. Review] Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 39(2):89-97, 2005 Feb.