Assessment of the relationship between masticatory performance, occlusal contact area, chewing time and cycles, and gastric emptying scintigraphy in dentate subjects

BACKGROUND: Good mastication is thought to help digestion in the stomach, hence promoting the health of the gastrointestinal system. However, the correlation between masticatory and gastric function has been controversial. This is partly explained by different food types used to assess the performance of the two organs. Recently, frankfurter sausage has been proposed to be suitable for both masticatory performance and gastric emptying tests. OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between masticatory performance, occlusal contact area, chewing time and cycles, and gastric emptying scintigraphy parameters in healthy dentate adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty healthy subjects (15 men: 25 women, age 23.9 ± 3.8 years) underwent masticatory performance tests and gastric emptying scintigraphy using frankfurter sausage as a test food. Masticatory performance was calculated as the median particle size (MPS) of chewed frankfurter sausage cubes after 30 chewing cycles. Gastric emptying scintigraphy was performed using frankfurter sausage mixed with technetium-99 m-labelled microwaved egg meal. Cumulative occlusal areas of contact-near contact (cACNC) were determined by silicone bite registration and image-analysed. Chewing time and cycles before swallowing were also recorded. RESULTS: No significant differences in MPS, cACNC, chewing time and cycles, or gastric emptying parameters were observed between gender. Bivariate correlation showed masticatory performance, occlusal contact area, chewing time and cycles were not correlated with gastric emptying parameters (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Using the same test food to assess the masticatory and gastric function in dentate subjects, the present study showed that masticatory performance, occlusal contacts, chewing time and cycles did not affect gastric emptying.