Effect of chewing training on masticatory efficiency

A special, hard chewing gum was used to study the effects of chewing training on masticatory efficiency. An experimental group of 17 individuals used this chewing gum 1 h daily for 28 days, while a control group of 8 individuals performed no chewing-gum training. The percentage of masticatory efficiency was measured with a special sieve system, and the time for 10 chewing cycles was taken from EMG recordings. These measurements were made in trained and untrained condition before and after 30 min of intense chewing. The results indicate that intense chewing for 30 min decreased the masticatory efficiency and increased the frequency of the chewing cycles significantly in both trained and untrained individuals, possibly due to fatigue of the masticatory muscles. However, chewing training for 28 days did not influence these factors significantly.