Association between masticatory performance and maximal occlusal force in young men

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between masticatory performance and maximal occlusal force in dentate subjects, using test foods of varying hardness. Subjects were 20 young males with natural dentitions. Gummy jellies with two different degrees of hardness have been used as test foods to evaluate masticatory performance. Masticatory performance was evaluated by the increase of the surface area of expectorated pieces of comminuted gummy jelly that was calculated from the concentration of gelatin. Maximal occlusal force was measured with pressure sensitive sheets (DENTAL PRESCALE 50H R type). The results suggested that maximal occlusal force had a significant positive correlation to the masticatory performance both with soft gummy jelly and hard gummy jelly. The correlation coefficient (r) with hand gummy jelly tended to be larger than with soft gummy jelly.