A Novel Three-Dimensional Analysis of Tongue Movement During Water and Saliva Deglutition: A Preliminary Study on Swallowing Patterns.
Giannina Álvarez, Fernando José Dias, María Florencia Lezcano and 2 others
PMID 30382383WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy adults moved the back of the tongue more than the front up and down when swallowing saliva or water.
Larger water volumes produced wider tongue movement on the up-down and front-back axes. Side-to-side motion changed little.
Key findings
01During saliva swallowing, the back of the tongue moved more than the middle and front portions on the up-down axis, the front portion moved less than the other two on the front-back axis, and side-to-side movement did not differ among portions.
02When swallowing water, larger volumes produced wider tongue movement on the up-down and front-back axes, while side-to-side movement showed little change across volumes.
03Type III was the most common saliva swallowing pattern.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only a small group of healthy adults, so it cannot show how people with swallowing disorders move their tongue. Participants had normal occlusion and continuous dental arches, so edentulous patients were not represented. Only water was tested, so food or thickened liquids were not evaluated. Sensor cables may have caused discomfort, which could affect natural swallowing. The swallowing pattern groups were uneven, so the authors did not compare tongue movement among patterns. The measured displacement values differed from previous studies, so the authors called for more work before drawing firm conclusions.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Universidad de La Frontera. The supplied text does not report other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use these tongue movement values as clinical norms for patients with swallowing problems. The study measured only healthy adults with normal occlusion and continuous dental arches, and it did not test people with dysphagia or compare treatments.