Reliability of a Tongue Movement Test in Patients with Mandibulectomy and/or Glossectomy

Abstract

There are many reports about tongue movement and oral function. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of a tongue movement test for patients with mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy. The test could be performed without any specific measurement equipment, be compared the movements of the side that had undergone surgery to those of the intact side and be applied for patients missing anterior teeth because anterior teeth were not used as a reference marker.
According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, fifteen patients with mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy were selected as subjects. The tongue movement test examines voluntary tongue movements of the tip of the tongue and has four lingual movements and is scored by five different evaluators. The ICC for each movement was more than 0.95. The reliability of the test was confirmed using statistical analysis.
Using the tongue movement test, it is possible to compare the movements of the operated side to those of the intact side, and to evaluate movements of the tongue.