Axial force of the tongue in different age groups.

PURPOSE To analyze the maximum axial force, the mean axial force, the amount of energy accumulated by the tongue, and the time taken to reach the maximum axial force, in different age ranges. METHODS The records of 92 individuals - students, staff and visitors at an university -, 29 (32.6%) men and 63 (67.4%) women, with ages between 14 and 53 years old, were analyzed. Subjects were divided into four age groups: 14 to 18 years, 19 to 23 years, 24 to 28 years, and 29 to 53 years. Each subject underwent clinical and instrumental assessment of the tongue. Instrumental assessment used FORLING. Data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS Regarding the maximum force, the mean force and the tongue's accumulated energy, no differences were observed between groups. Regarding the time taken to reach the maximum force, the greatest values were obtained at the age range from 14 to 18 years (4.5 s), and the shortest values, at the age range from 19 to 23 years (3.1 s), with significant difference between the groups (p=0.001). CONCLUSION Only the time taken to reach the tongue's maximum force is influenced by age range, indicating that teenagers are not able to reach the maximum lingual force as fast as young adults.