title: Relationship between clinical and instrumental assessment of the tongue in healthy young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify the association of tongue clinical evaluation aspects with quantitative evaluation of tongue force.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted with 48 healthy adults, 13 men and 35 women (ages 20-44 years; mean - M=24.8 years; standard deviation - SD=5.3 years). By clinical evaluation, the following aspects were checked: tongue force, alternate movements, snap, suction and vibration of the tongue. The evaluator also checked if the floor of the mouth elevated during tasks of tongue elevation and sucking tongue on palate and the occurrence of lingual tremor. Quantitative evaluation was accomplished using the FORLING instrument. It is composed of a piston/cylinder assembly attached to a mouthguard and to a drive shaft. The force applied by the tongue to the drive shaft is hydraulically transmitted to a pressure sensor. Mann-Whitney's test was used to verify whether there were differences in average and maximum forces according to the characteristics assessed. The test was performed at a 5% level of significance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The aspects with the most frequent alteration were sucking tongue on palate and tongue vibration. Tremor had a higher occurrence during tongue movements. Elevation of the floor of the mouth in sucking tongue on palate was the only aspect associated with quantitative evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association between elevation of the floor of the mouth during sucking tongue on palate and quantitative evaluation can provide insight into the higher participation of the suprahyoid muscles in some participants in both tasks.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bárbara Antunes
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Maria Moreira Moraes
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Furlan
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Estevam Barbosa de Las
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréa Rodrigues
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Motta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000502:physiology*; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult