Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between chewing side continuity and masticatory performance.
Methods: Twenty-two healthy subjects with normal occlusion who chewed alternately on both sides in a preliminary chewing task were selected for this study (15 males, 7 females; mean age, 25.9 years). To evaluate chewing side continuity, the subjects were asked to chew on one piece of gummy jelly for 20 seconds. This task was repeated three times, and the mean number of side-continuous strokes was calculated for each chewing side. The masticatory performance was determined by Manly's sieving method. The results obtained were analyzed for each chewing side, and the subjects were divided into two groups according to the length of chewing side continuity: the long chewing side continuity group (mean number of side-continuous strokes ≥ median) and the short chewing side continuity group (mean number of side-continuous strokes < median). The masticatory performance was compared between the two groups using the t-test, with statistical significance being established at P<0.05.
Results: Among the 44 chewing sides, the most frequently encountered number of side continuous strokes was less than 4. The mean masticatory performance was 87.0% (SD, 7.5%). The long chewing continuity group showed significantly better masticatory performance than the shorter chewing continuity group (P=0.040).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that long chewing continuity could be a measure of better masticatory performance in healthy young dentate subjects who do not have a preferred chewing side.