Chewing Duration Time Of Various Food Textures In Young Adults
OBJECTIVE: To obtain reference values of chewing time of several food textures in young adults. METHOD: descriptive study with a quantitative approach that was developed in a clinical reference, being the population composed of 40 young adults between 18-30 years of age, of both genres. As exclusion criteria: those with neuromuscular and / or degenerative diseases or consequences thereof, as well as subjects who were making use of any orthodontic / orthopedic resource. We conducted a dental evaluation, followed by a clinical assessment. One at a time, the following foods were offered: French bread, wafer biscuit, roasted cashews, for voluntary chewing. To measure the food chewing time, we used a stopwatch, and this collection procedure was filmed. Data analysis was performed by means of the SPSS statistics 20.0 (IBM®) program. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the medians of chewing time of French bread, wafer biscuit and cashew nuts, which were 33.0s (interquartile amplitude 29.0 - 40.0), 10.0s (interquartile amplitude 8.25-12.0) and 18.5s (interquartile amplitude 15.0-23.75), respectively. CONCLUSION: The texture of foods influences the length of mastication. The more rigid is the food, the more cycles and mandibular movements, and therefore the longer the duration of chewing.