Amplitude speed of masticatory movements in total laryngectomy patients

INTRODUTION: Laryngectomy is a surgical procedure that aims to remove the hyoid bone and the larynx and its muscles; it is inferred that a destabilization of the hyoid-mandibular axis will occur, consequently changing chewing. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the amplitude and speed of chewing in laryngectomies and to compare them with two groups of non-laryngectomized individuals differentiated by age. METHOD: 72 volunteers were divided into three groups: (A) 32 volunteers, mean age 22.3 years, 17 females; (B) 20 volunteers, mean age 53.2 years, 10 females, and (C) 20 volunteers who underwent total laryngectomy, mean age 61.5 years, one female. Electrognathography, a method that tracks and measures millimeter jaw movements, was used for evaluation. RESULTS: Significant diferences were observed between groups A and C in masticatory amplitude and speed. CONLCUSION: Age, and adaptive and compensatory changes appear to explain chewing better than factors related to total laryngectomy. © 2014 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.