No abstract

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

Therefore, in this study, the AGE of adults with completely natural dentition was investigated to clarify the reference value of MP by measuring the AGE from chewing gummy jelly. Clarifying the reference value of AGE in healthy adults with natural dentition is clinically significant, because it can be used to evaluate the degree of masticatory performance and the therapeutic effect, or to detect people with reduced masticatory performance.

Twenty patients wearing complete dentures were asked to chew a gummy jelly, and their glucose extraction was measured. Two types of masticatory scores (MS1 and MS2) were calculated using a food intake questionnaire. The relationship between masticatory scores and glucose extraction was investigated. The values of masticatory scores were large when the amount of glucose extraction was also large, and there were significantly positive correlations between the two. There was also a positive correlation between MS1 and MS2. It was suggested that the food intake ability was high when the masticatory performance using a gummy jelly was high.

From these results, it was suggested that there was a functional difference between Group I (with a convex closing path) and Group II (with a concave closing path), and that Group I had a superior masticatory function to Group II.