Differential diagnosis between infantile and mature swallowing with ultrasonography

Peng, Chien-Lun
Jost-Brinkmann, Paul-Georg
Yoshida, Noriaki
Miethke, Rainer-Reginald
Lin, Che-Tong

^*Department of Orthodontics, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan, Republic of China
^**Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Centre of Dentistry, University Hospital Charité, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
^***Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Nagasaki University, Japan
^****Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan, Republic of China

Address for correspondence Chien-Lun Peng, Department of Orthodontics, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Wu-hsing Street 250, Taipei 110, Taiwan, Republic of China

European Journal of Orthodontics 25(5):p 451-456, October 2003.

SUMMARY

In order to investigate the difference in tongue movement between visceral (infantile) and somatic (mature) swallowing patterns, 12 visceral (seven females, five males) and 14 somatic (eight females, six males) swallowers were examined with the B+M-mode ultrasound technique. Movements of the tongue tip and submental musculature during swallowing were recorded on video cassette and evaluated with a personal computer.

The results demonstrated that the tongue dorsal surface, which was thought to be ideal for observing tongue function, was not suitable for differentiating between visceral and somatic swallowing patterns. Conversely, the movements of the genioglossus muscle were found to be identical within groups but significantly different (P < 0.01) from each other between the two swallowing patterns. Therefore, the genioglossus muscle can serve as a reliable means for differentiating between visceral and somatic swallowers.