title: Treatment of chronic periodontitis and its impact on mastication.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of conventional periodontal treatment of chronic periodontitis on the perception of mastication.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients (n = 28; age range: 23 to 56 years, mean age: 37.9 years) were evaluated on two occasions (before and after treatment) with a 45-day interval using the Oral Impact on Daily Performance questionnaire. An electromyography system was used for the determination of activity in muscles of mastication and bite force. Masticatory performance was assessed using a test material. The median particle size of the masticated material was determined using a sieve method and the Rosin-Rammler equation. The clinical criteria were the number of teeth and probing depth, both determined by a single calibrated observer masked to the treatment phase. The data were analyzed in the pretreatment and post-treatment periods using Wilcoxon test; Spearman correlation coefficient; and two multiple linear regression models (backward stepwise procedure).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant negative correlation between the number of teeth (number of mastication units) and difficulty eating (P <0.05) before and after treatment. Probing depth had a positive relationship with the total Oral Impact on Daily Performance score before treatment (P <0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The subjective perception of the impact of oral health on mastication diminished after periodontal treatment. The number of teeth had considerable importance in the perception of impact on mastication in the sample studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Dentistry, Green River Valley University, UNINCOR, Três Corações-MG, Brazil. lucianojosepereira@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Luciano J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Cátia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gazolla
authors.forename: Isabela B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Maria Letícia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ramos-Jorge
authors.forename: Leandro S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Gustavo H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Gameiro
authors.forename: Douglas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Castelo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001732:Bite Force; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008409:Mastication; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D010465:Perception; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult