Tongue motor skills and masticatory performance in adult dentates, elderly dentates, and complete denture wearers

Diadococinesia oral e função mastigatória em idosos saudáveis

“…Such results demonstrate that the changes associated with aging can influence the oral motor control, which may cause the decrease in the speech velocity (15) , besides reduction in the speed of mastication. One possible explanation for these findings may be related to the decrease of tongue pressure, owing to age (9) , and to the influence of senility on tongue motor skill, compared to dentate adults and elderly and complete denture users (10) . As evidenced, few studies link oral diadochokinesia to chewing.…”

“…By assessing the relationships between oral motor functions of language and lips in the elderly and investigating the effects of these factors on their chewing performance (9) , the authors concluded that the tongue can compensate for the lack of teeth in the chewing performance of individuals who have lost their natural teeth, highlighting the importance of tongue function in chewing. In a study which relates the use of dental prostheses to oral motor control, the authors (10) found that the tongue motor skills in dentate elderly users of dentures were lower than those of dentate adults, the tongue motor skill and masticatory performance in complete denture users correlating with age and the appropriate use of the prosthesis, with no influence on the movement of the tongue.…”

Lingual kinematic strategies used to increase speech rate: Comparison between younger and older adults

“…It has been suggested that maintenance of tongue structure and function with aging can be attributed to the tongue's abundant vascular supply, which has been suggested to remain constant irrespective of age, and the constant high level of activity required of the tongue through such activities as mastication (Price, & Darvell, 1981;Breustedt, 1983;Crow, & Ship, 1996). This is particularly the case for those who wear dentures, where the tongue is required for retention and stabilisation of the prosthesis (Price, & Darvell, 1981;Breustedt, 1983;Crow, & Ship, 1996;Koshino, Hirai, Ishijima, & Ikeda, 1997).…”

The future of teaching of complete denture construction to undergraduates in the UK: is a replacement denture technique the answer?

“…Several authors have tried to use stereognosis as an indication of patients' ability to adapt to new dentures, but the results have been inconclusive. Landt and Fransson 13 demonstrated a decrease in tongue motor skills in a group of elderly subjects compared with a younger group and Koshino et al 14 observed a decrease in tongue motor skills and masticatory performance, but Muller et al 15 were unable to correlate high oral stereognosis scores with adaptation problems, stating that good retention was the best facilitator of adaptation and Slagter et al 16 and Koshino et al 17 related the ability to adapt to the flatness of the lower ridge. Mantecchini et al 18 found that the elderly had worse stereognosis scores than the young, but they found no relationship with length of time the patients had been edentulous.…”