AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between occlusal force and masticatory efficiency in school age Japanese children. SAMPLE: The subjects were 208 volunteer Japanese children from 7 to 9 years old. Occlusal force was measured using an MPM-3000 occlusal instrument and masticatory efficiency by adenosine bisodium triphosphate (ATP) particles. RESULTS: It is obvious from the results that the occlusal force of Japanese school age children is decreasing. A t-test of both masticatory efficiency and occlusal force showed no significant sex differences for children at 7 and 8 years old. However, 9 year-old boys showed significantly higher values compared with 9 year-old girls in both measurements. No significant difference was seen between 7 and 8 year-old children in both measurements. However, 9 year-old children showed significantly higher values when compared with 7 and 8 year-old children. Occlusal force and masticatory efficiency were shown to be correlated with chronological age, with a coefficient of more than 0.6.
AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between occlusal force and masticatory efficiency in school age Japanese children. SAMPLE: The subjects were 208 volunteer Japanese children from 7 to 9 years old. Occlusal force was measured using an MPM-3000 occlusal instrument and masticatory efficiency by adenosine bisodium triphosphate (ATP) particles. RESULTS: It is obvious from the results that the occlusal force of Japanese school age children is decreasing. A t-test of both masticatory efficiency and occlusal force showed no significant sex differences for children at 7 and 8 years old. However, 9 year-old boys showed significantly higher values compared with 9 year-old girls in both measurements. No significant difference was seen between 7 and 8 year-old children in both measurements. However, 9 year-old children showed significantly higher values when compared with 7 and 8 year-old children. Occlusal force and masticatory efficiency were shown to be correlated with chronological age, with a coefficient of more than 0.6.