The effects of food consistency on jaw movement and posterior temporalis and inferior orbicularis oris muscle activities during chewing in children

Abstract

The possible effects of food consistency on the number of chews and the lapse of time in a chewing sequence, the jaw-movement pattern and velocity, and jaw and lip muscle activity during chewing were investigated. Fifteen healthy children with good occlusion were selected. First, each subject freely chewed hard (HJ) and soft (SJ) types of jelly without specifying the chewing side. The number of chews and elapsed time in a masticatory sequence (from the start of chewing to the completion of the final swallow) were measured. Second, the subjects performed right- and left-sided chewing of the same food. The electromyograms (EMG) of posterior temporalis (PT) and inferior orbicularis oris (OI) muscles on the right and left sides and associated jaw movement records were sampled. The HJ was chewed more times and with a longer time until finally swallowed ( p ⩽ 0.0007) than the SJ. The HJ chewing also showed broader masticatory loops ( p ⩽ 0.0199) in the frontal view and higher peak activities ( p ⩽ 0.0007) for the PT muscle. The closing phase was longer when chewing the HJ than SJ, but the opening and intercuspal phases remained stable. More lateral excursion of the jaw was seen when chewing the HJ, but the jaw-movement trajectories in the sagittal and vertical directions were not affected by the change in consistency of the food. The jaw-closing velocities for the HJ chews were significantly slower ( p ⩽ 0.0351) than those for the SJ chews in three directions. The HJ chews also revealed a longer duration between the onset of EMG burst for the PT muscle and the beginning of the centric occlusion ( p ⩽ 0.0146). The OI muscle showed increased activity in accord with jaw opening, and consistent reciprocal cyclic activity with the PT muscle in terms of temporal associations ( r ⩾ 0.5250; p ⩽ 0.0495). The OI muscle started to burst at a later part of the intercuspal phase, and frequently showed secondary activity in the jaw-closing and intercuspal phases. The peak activity for the ipsilateral OI muscle was significantly higher ( p ⩽ 0.0106) than that for the contralateral OI muscle for both the HJ and SJ. The OI muscle activity, however, did not differ between the hard and soft jellies. Thus the number of chews and the time elapsed from the start of chewing until the completion of the final swallowing of food in a chewing sequence increased when chewing a harder food. Also, the PT and OI muscle activity and associated jaw-movement patterns appear to be centrally regulated but peripheral information on food consistency might also modify the motor output to the PT muscle. The consistency of food, however, might not be influential in modulating the basic form of perioral motility during chewing.