PURPOSE: The masticatory ability of community-dwelling
elderly persons is often evaluated using subjective questionnaires. However, an objective evaluation would clearly be beneficial so that problems can be adequately addressed. The purpose of this study was to determine the
utility of color-changeable
chewing gum to evaluate masticatory ability in community-dwelling
elderly persons. METHODS: We analyzed the reliability of the
chewing gum for assessment of masticatory ability in 5 individuals who were examined on 5 occasions at 2 hour intervals. We also analyzed the validity of color-change of the
chewing gum for assessment of masticatory ability by
means of a four-part examination of 210 community-dwelling
elderly persons. The four parts were as follows: evaluation of masticatory ability with the
gum, determination of the number of residual
teeth, measurement of maximum
bite force, and a questionnaire in which participants were asked to assess their own masticatory ability. Color changes in the
gum after
chewing were measured with a color-reader and quantified with the a* color space defined by the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. A higher a* value indicates a higher degree of
mastication. RESULTS:
With respect to reliability, the
coefficient of variation for the a* of the color-changeable
chewing gum was 2.15-3.75%. There were no significant a* value differences between men and women in any age group. Decrease with age was significantly only in women.
With respect to validity, the a* value of the color-changeable
chewing gum had a significant
positive correlation with the number of residual
teeth and maximum
bite force in both men and women. In addition, men and women who reported good masticatory ability in response to the questionnaire had significantly high a* values. CONCLUSION: We found the use of color-changeable
chewing gum to be a highly reliable and valid method for evaluating masticatory ability. Our results indicate that this method could be useful for monitoring masticatory ability in the community-dwelling
elderly.
