Differentiating Infantile And Adult Swallow Reflexes

Differentiating Infantile And Adult Swallow Reflexes

Differentiate infantile swallow and adult swallow.
Or
Differentiate adult swallowing and visceral swallowing.
Answer. Swallowing is an important function carried out by the stomatognathic system.

Infantile/ visceral Swallowing

• The ability to feed from the breast is present in the newborn child.
• The tongue lies between the gum pads
• The mandible is stabilized by obvious contraction of facial muscle especially the buccinator.
• Seen in the neonate and gradually disappear with the eruption of teeth and growth of the mandible.
• The swallow as guided and to a large extent controlled by sensory interchange between lips and tongue.

Adult Swallowing

• Mature swallowing is seen after a year of life.
• The tip of the tongue contact the palatal rugae posterior to the maxillary anterior teeth.
• The mid portion contacts the hard palate
• Posterior aspect assumes a 45° angulation against the posterior pharyngeal wall to permit the bolus of food to move into the digestive tract.
• Facial expression muscles are passive but mandibular elevators are contracted.