Assessment of Resting Tongue Position in Patients with Partial and Complete Edentulism

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of different tongue positions in partially dentate and completely edentulous patients.

Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Prosthodontics, Institute of Dentistry, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, from August 2023 to January 2024. All partially and completely edentulous patients aged 18–65 years of either gender were included. An intraoral examination was conducted to assess the resting tongue position, with five observations made per participant to ensure accuracy. Tongue position was evaluated based on the visibility of the floor of the mouth, the lateral borders in relation to the mandibular ridge or teeth, and the apex position relative to the anterior ridge. Each tongue position was then classified as normal upper, normal lower, abnormal upper, or abnormal lower.

Results: Overall, 91 patients with edentulism were studied, with a mean age of 58.36 ± 7.53 years. Complete edentulism was most prevalent (73.6%). Abnormal upper tongue positioning was the most common finding (62.6%), followed by 28.6% with a normal upper position, 5.5% with a normal lower position, and only 3.3% with an abnormal lower position. Moreover, significant associations were found between tongue position and age of the patients (p = 0.006), gender (p = 0.028), and duration of edentulism (p = 0.001), indicating that prolonged edentulism, female gender, and older age are associated with abnormal tongue position.

Conclusion: Irregular tongue positions, particularly the abnormal upper posture, were more prevalent in completely edentulous and older populations with prolonged duration of edentulism. This highlights the importance of assessing tongue posture during prosthodontic treatment planning to improve denture fit and function.