Simultaneous Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Lip Kinetics and Tongue Pressure during Swallowing

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount of lip movement and simultaneous tongue pressure changes on an artificial palatal plate during swallowing.
Methods: Subjects were 9 healthy males (25.4 ± 2.1 years of age). Three-dimensional lip movement was measured by a wireless optoelectronic system, and tongue pressure was simultaneously recorded by a sensor sheet attached to the incisive papilla of an artificial palatal plate. Reflective markers were attached to the right and left corners of the mouth to measure the distance between them. All subjects were instructed to swallow 5 mL and 20 mL samples of water at will. The maximum change of distance between the corners of mouth, the maximum tongue pressure, and the time interval between the two maxima (lip-tongue interval) were calculated. Wilcoxon’s test was used to detect significant differences in these measurements between the two volumes.
Results: Maximum tongue pressure did not differ significantly between swallowed volumes. The maximum change of distance between the corners of mouth was larger and the lip-tongue interval was significantly shorter with the larger volume.
Conclusions: We suggest that swallowing a larger volume is accomplished by larger lip movement rather than larger tongue movement. These results indicate that lip movement during swallowing can be evaluated objectively.

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