Effects of gum chewing exercise on maximum bite force according to facial morphology

Development of the masticatory system is influenced by functional needs. Furthermore, masticatory exercise can improve masticatory function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effect of the gum chewing exercise on the maximum bite force (MBF) in adult subjects with different facial morphologies. MBF was measured by a portable occlusal force gauge and lateral cephalogram was used for evaluation of craniofacial morphology in 19 individuals (7 males and 12 females) with a mean age of 25.4 years (SD ± 4.3). The volunteers underwent gum chewing exercise for 5 min twice a day for 4 weeks. MBF was measured before (T1) and after the 4‐week exercise (T2). The facial morphology of the subjects was classified into the brachy (n = 7), mesio (n = 7), and dolicho (n = 5) facial types. In all three groups, exercise was associated with a significant increase in MBF, though the percent increase was highest in the dolicho facial type. We conclude that gum chewing exercise can improve masticatory performance, especially in individuals with dolicho facial morphology.

内容要旨・審査要旨・論文本文の公開
本論文は, 著者Manami Shiraiの学位論文として提出され, 学位審査・授与の対象となっている。

©2018 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )