Masticatory mandibular movements for different foods textures related to onomatopoetic words

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different sensory-evaluated food textures on masticatory movements, and to identify meaningful factors that correspond to different food textures. Masticatory movements of three healthy subjects were evaluated with a jaw movement tracking device using five different test foods: almond, hard and light rice crackers, apple, and chewing gum. The movements of the incisor point, working and non-working condyle and the entire mandible at the occlusal phase in the horizontal plane were analyzed. For harder foods, the incisor entered the intercuspal position from a rear and lateral, the working condyle showed anterior and noticeable medial movements as the entire mandible translated posteriorly and medially. For soft foods, the incisor movements were nearly coincidental with the lateral border movements, and the mandible rotated towards the inner side near the working condyle. Although the overall paths of the mandibular movements are individually different, it appeared that jaw movement at the final closure is particular to the food texture. From the standpoint of mandibular movements, it is suggested that masticatory movements during the occlusal phase in the horizontal plane is useful for revealing the relationship between mandibular movements and food textures that were evaluated with onomatopoetic words.