Relationship between perception of tongue position and measures of tongue force on the teeth.
OBJECTIVE
To verify whether there are differences of tongue force on the teeth at rest and during swallowing between individuals who report appropriate tongue position and those who report tongue thrust.


METHODS
Tongue forces on the teeth were evaluated in 28 participants aged 19 to 31 years. To this end, a Flexiforce® resistive sensor was fixed to the palatal surface of the maxillary right central incisor (tooth 8) and was connected to an amplifier circuit, a data acquisition board, and a computer. Measurements were taken at rest and during saliva swallowing. Participants were asked about their habitual tongue position and where the apex of tongue touched when they swallowed. The Mann Whitney test was used for statistical analysis at 5% significance level.


RESULTS
At habitual position, tongue force on the teeth was 0.00 N both for participants that reported tongue touch and for those who did not. At directed swallowing, tongue force was 0.34 N for the group of individuals whose tongues touch the teeth and 0.08 N for the group of individuals whose tongues do not touch the teeth. This difference was significant.


CONCLUSIONS
No significant difference was found between the tongue forces of participants of both groups at habitual position. However, participants with tongue thrust during directed swallowing presented greater force than those whose tongues do not touch the teeth during this task.
Prefeitura Municipal de Nova Lima - Nova Lima (MG), Brasil.
Amanda Freitas
AF
Valentim
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil.
Renata Maria Moreira Moraes
RM
Furlan
Instituto Metodista Izabela Hendrix - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil.
Tatiana Vargas de Castro
TV
Perilo
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil.
Andréa Rodrigues
AR
Motta
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG - Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil.
Estevam Barbosa de Las
EB
Casas
D000328:Adult; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D012463:Saliva; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology*; D014070:Tooth; D055815:Young Adult