Characterization of chewing according to time, prevalence of laterality and number of cycles in young adults

Abstract

Purpose: To characterize mastication in young adults; identify the time, the predominance of laterality and number of cycles; to observe whether there is a relation between sex and these characteristics; to observe whether there is a relationship between the use of foods of different consistencies with the characteristics of mastication. Methods: Thirty young adults of both genders were assessed, aged 18 to 27 years, selected according to convenience sample. For the chewing evaluation were offered: 01 French bread 25g; ¼ apple, cookie type stuffed 01, 01 teaspoon peeled roasted peanuts. The chewing of the volunteers was recorded and archived and subsequently analyzed. Results: The bread has a higher average time (02’28 “), followed by apple (01’25”), peanuts (01’16 “) and biscuit (00’51”). The average number of chewing cycles needed to completely shred foods showed the following values: bread (68.76 - right side, 78.70 - left), apple (37.70 - right side, 54.60 - left side) , cookie (25.03 - right side, 25.90 - left) and groundnut (40.07 - right side, 47.67 - left side). Conclusions: With regard to time, the bread has a higher value, followed by apple, peanuts and cookie. The left side predominance for the apple was statistically significant. Women presented longer mastication time and higher number of cycles compared to men. French bread was the food that showed higher number of cycles.