Reliability of ultrasound-based measurements for tongue-palate distance and tongue thickness assessment in healthy individuals.

OBJECTIVE

The morphology of the tongue and its relationship with the hard palate play an important role in the rehabilitation of patents with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). This study aimed to evaluate the intra-and inter-evaluator reliability of ultrasound measurements of tongue-palate distance and tongue thickness in healthy individuals.

METHODS

Thirty healthy volunteers were assessed using a Mindray ultrasound device with a C5-1s probe. Two trained evaluators conducted two measurement sessions 1 week apart. Pearson or Spearman correlation analyses and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine measurement reliability.

RESULTS

The ICCs for tongue-palate distance were 0.745 (intra-evaluator) and 0.611 (inter-evaluator). For tongue thickness, the ICCs were 0.855 (intra-evaluator) and 0.730 (inter-evaluator). Individual evaluator reliability was consistent: Evaluator A showed ICCs of 0.761 (distance) and 0.862 (thickness); Evaluator B showed ICCs of 0.788 (distance) and 0.841 (thickness). All correlations were statistically significant (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Ultrasound provides a reliable method for quantifying tongue-palate distance and tongue thickness in healthy subjects. These measures could support clinical assessment and rehabilitation planning for conditions such as TMD.