Faculty Publications

The Influence Of Oropalatal Dimensions On The Measurement Of Tongue Strength

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Deglutition, Deglutition disorders, Lingual–palatal pressure, Oropalatal dimensions, Tongue strength

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Dysphagia

Volume

32

Issue

6

First Page

759

Last Page

766

Abstract

Tongue strength is routinely evaluated in clinical swallowing evaluations since lingual weakness is an established contributor to dysphagia. Tongue strength may be clinically quantified by the maximum isometric tongue pressure (MIP) generated by the tongue against the palate; however, wide ranges in normal performance remain to be fully explained. Although orthodontic theory has long suggested a relation between lingual function and oral cavity dimensions, little attention has been given to the potential influence of oral and palatal structure(s) on healthy variance in MIP generation. Therefore, anterior and posterior tongue strength measures and oropalatal dimensions were obtained across 147 healthy adults (aged 18–88 years). Age was confirmed as a significant, independent predictor explaining approximately 10.2% of the variance in anterior tongue strength, but not a significant predictor of posterior tongue strength. However, oropalatal dimensions predicted anterior tongue strength with over three times the predictive power of age alone (p < .001). Significant models for anterior tongue strength (R2 = .457) and posterior tongue strength (R2 = .283) included a combination of demographic predictors (i.e., age and/or gender) and oropalatal dimensions. Palatal width, estimated tongue volume, and gender were significant predictors of posterior tongue strength (p < .001). Therefore, oropalatal dimensions may warrant consideration when accurately differentiating between pathological lingual weakness and healthy individual difference.

Department

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Original Publication Date

12-1-2017

DOI of published version

10.1007/s00455-017-9820-4

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

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