A study on the measurement of occlusal force and masticatory efficiency in school age Japanese children.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between occlusal force and masticatory efficiency in school age Japanese children.


METHODS
The subjects were 208 volunteer Japanese children from 7 to 9 years old. Occlusal force was measured using an MPM-3000 occlusal instrument and masticatory efficiency by adenosine bisodium triphosphate (ATP) particles.


RESULTS
It is obvious from the results that the occlusal force of Japanese school age children is decreasing. A t-test of both masticatory efficiency and occlusal force showed no significant sex differences for children at 7 and 8 years old. However, 9 year-old boys showed significantly higher values compared with 9 year-old girls in both measurements. No significant difference was seen between 7 and 8 year-old children in both measurements. However, 9 year-old children showed significantly higher values when compared with 7 and 8 year-old children. Occlusal force and masticatory efficiency were shown to be correlated with chronological age, with a coefficient of more than 0.6.
Maki
K
K
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan.
Nishioka
T
T
Morimoto
A
A
Naito
M
M
Kimura
M
M
D000367:Age Factors; D044466:Asian People; D001732:Bite Force; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics