From these results it was suggested that there was a close relation between masticatory performance and masticatory movement, and that the masticatory performance could be increased by rhythmic, rapid and stable mastication with a large opening distance.

These results suggested that masticatory performance and OHRQoL are significantly improved after treatment and that there is a close relationship between the two. Moreover, functional limitation was found to be the most important factor affecting masticatory performance.

It was suggested that it might be important to take into consideration gender-related differences while analyzing masticatory performance in dentate adults.

Clinical significanceThis study confirms that measuring glucose extraction from chewing gummy jelly is an effective way of objectively evaluating masticatory performance and can be easily used in actual clinical practie. AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effectiveness of examining masticatory performance by measuring glucose extraction from chewing gummy jelly. Methods:Twenty healthy subjects were asked to chew 2g of gummy jelly and 3g of peanuts for 10, 20, and 30 strokes respectively. The masticatory value as measured by the sieve method was then compared with the amount of glucose extraction from chewing gummy jelly. Results:The relationship between the amount of glucose extraction and the masticatory value was positive (r =0.475-0.850). Both the amount of glucose extraction and the masticatory value were lowest for the 10 chewing strokes and significantly increased for the 20 and 30 chewing strokes (glucose extraction F=1179.6, P <0.01; masticatory value F =605.0, P <0.01). The standardized glucose extraction for the 10, 20, and 30 chewing strokes was 0.17, 0.34, and 0.49 respectively, and increased proportionally. The standardized masticatory values for the 10, 20, and 30 chewing strokes were 0.28, 0.35, and 0.37 respectively, and increased logarithmically. Conclusion:From these results it was concluded that the masticatory performance as measured by the amount of glucose extraction from chewing gummy jelly is an effective indicator of masticatory function and has a high potential for clinical application.

It was suggested that the occlusal state affected the masticatory performance of elderly adults.

In order to find the most suitable food and chewing side for evaluating the stability of masticatory movement, three types of food with varying textures, as well as both free chewing and unilateral chewing, were utilized in analyzing the masticatory path during mastication. A piece of chewing gum, one peanut, and a slice of crispy bread were used as test foods. For 20 healthy subjects, movement of the incisal point while masticating a test food for 10 s on the free side and the habitual side was recorded. Indicators representing movement path stability were calculated and compared among the foods and between the chewing sides. Masticatory movement was most stable when masticating chewing gum, and less stable for the peanut, and most unstable for the crispy bread. There was a statistically significant difference between each pair of foods for almost all of the indicators. The indicators for peanut were approximately 1.5 times larger than those for masticating chewing gum and the indicators for crispy bread were double those for the chewing gum. When comparing free chewing with unilateral chewing, the masticatory movement of unilateral chewing was significantly more stable than that of free chewing for all test foods. From these results it was suggested that, for evaluating masticatory movement path stability, the most suitable type of food was softened chewing gum and the most suitable chewing method was unilateral chewing on the habitual chewing side.

No abstract

The movement path could be classified into seven patterns and no gender-related difference was found in the frequency of each pattern.