The aim of this study was to compare objective and subjective hardness of selected common foods with a wax cube used as a test item in a mixing ability test. Objective hardness was determined for 11 foods (cream cheese, boiled fish paste, boiled beef, apple, raw carrot, peanut, soft/hard rice cracker, jelly, plain chocolate and chewing gum) and the wax cube. Peak force (N) to compress each item was obtained from force-time curves generated with the Tensipresser. Perceived hardness ratings of each item were made by 30 dentate subjects (mean age 26.9 years) using a visual analogue scale (100 mm). These subjective assessments were given twice with a 1 week interval. High intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for test-retest reliability were seen for all foods (ICC > 0.68; P < 0.001). One-way anova found a significant effect of food type on both the objective hardness score and the subjective hardness rating (P < 0.001). The wax cube showed significant lower objective hardness score (32.6 N) and subjective hardness rating (47.7) than peanut (45.3 N, 63.5) and raw carrot (82.5 N, 78.4) [P < 0.05; Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsch (REGW)-F]. A significant semilogarithmic relationship was found between the logarithm of objective hardness scores and subjective hardness ratings across twelve test items (r = 0.90; P < 0.001). These results suggest the wax cube has a softer texture compared with test foods traditionally used for masticatory performance test, such as peanut and raw carrot. The hardness of the wax cube could be modified to simulate a range of test foods by changing mixture ratio of soft and hard paraffin wax.
This assignment applies to all translations of the Work as well as to preliminary display/posting of the abstract of the accepted article in electronic form before publication. If any changes in authorship (order, deletions, or additions) occur after the manuscript is submitted, agreement by all authors for such changes must be on file with the Publisher. An author's name may be removed only at his/her written request. (Note: Material prepared by employees of the US government in the course of their official duties cannot be copyrighted.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.