A study has been carried out to investigate possible between a group of dentulous young adults (average 22-5 years of age) and a group of dentulous elderly individuals (65-9 years), when attempting to recognize forms orally and to carry out tasks which demand a fine-coordination of the oral muscular apparatus. The results showed, that the older group had reduced ability for both forms of tests used in this study (RF-test for estimating the oral ability to recognize forms, and MA-test to estimate oral muscular ability). The reduced capacity of the older individuals to learn the requirements of the tests as compared with the younger ones, was especially obvious. Furthermore, individual differences in this respect were more obvious for the older than for the younger examinees. The suggestion is made that in further studies the number of trial-rounds may be reduced from three to two, certainly for older individuals and for both the RF- and the MA-test. Because of the obvious correlation between the results of the RF- and the MA-test among older individuals, it is concluded that both forms of tests may measure common or closely related factors, which are reflected by these tests.

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Oral ability to recognize forms and oral motor ability were examined in twenty children, aged 11 years, with normal occlusion. In the RF-test (recognition of form) the children identified the test pieces quicker but with a higher frequency of misidentification of the test pieces than a group of 17-year-old boys studied earlier. The effect of learning on the children was substantial with much quicker and greater certainty from one examination to another. Identification time and misidentification were positively correlated (individuals with long identification time also had a high frequency of errors). In the MA-test (oral motor ability) the children required a longer time to assemble the halves of the test pieces than did 17-year-old boys. A considerable effect of learning was found in the MA-test. The results of the RF-test and the MA-test varied independently of each other for which reason the two tests measure different components of oral ability.

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