Comparison of single and multiple sieve methods for the determination of masticatory performance.

In the majority of studies on masticatory performance, the degree of food breakdown has been determined by sieving the food with one or more sieves. The aim of the present study was to compare the results obtained with a single and a multiple sieve method, as these methods have never been compared. We analysed the chewed food of 176 dentate subjects with a single and a multiple sieve method. Furthermore, we quantified the influence of age, gender, and dental status on the masticatory performance in order to compare the sensitivity of both methods. We observed a significant influence of the number of occlusal units on the masticatory performance for both methods. The single sieve method is less reliable than the multiple sieve method if the sieve diameter is not close enough to the median particle size of the chewed food. Therefore, we recommend the multiple sieve method.