A study on the measurement of occlusal force and masticatory efficiency in school age Japanese children

Abstract

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.