Turkish Normative Data For The Test Of Masticating And Swallowing Solids (Tomass)

Purpose: Swallowing is a complex neuromuscular process requiring the integrity of many muscles and nerves. The natural aging process can result in deterioration of the swallowing structures and result in functional changes in healthy older adults. The Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids is the only non-instrumental test that provides quantitative measures for solid food ingestion. This study aimed to establish normative data for the Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids in healthy Turkish adults to potentially serve as a standard in dysphagia evaluation.Materials and Methods: A total of 144 healthy Turkish adults (ages 20-80+ years) grouped by age and gender participated in this study. The test required participants to eat a regional cracker. Per the protocol, the number of masticatory cycles, number of swallows, number of bites, and total duration to eat the cracker were recorded.Results: Normative data were obtained for the Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids from 144 healthy adults, stratified by age and gender. Younger participants took fewer bites (2.00 versus 2.65), chewed less (34.50 versus 51.02), swallowed less (2.06 versus 3.39), and swallowed quicker (30.14 versus 49.20) than older participants. In terms of gender, males took fewer bites (1.94 versus 2.59), chewed less (40.98 versus 45.83), and swallowed quicker (36.72 versus 41.23) than females.Conclusion: The Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids is a quick, sensitive, and objective measure of solid bolus ingestion that may be useful for identifying dysphagic patients at bedside and for tracking the efficiency of the oral phase of swallowing.