BACKGROUND Current smokers exhibit a higher rate of betel-quid chewing than non-smokers. However, little is known regarding the extent to which betel-quid chewing may affect attempts to quit smoking and smoking cessation. The aim of the present study is to examine the association between betel-quid chewing and patterns of quitting smoking. Specifically, we explore whether betel-quid chewing is ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of an alternate version of the chewing function questionnaire in partially dentate patients in Japan. METHODS Subjects were partially dentate patients who attended the prosthodontic clinic at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (N = 491, 71% women, mean age (+/- SD): 63.0 +/- 11.5 years). The que...

Surface EMG activities in the masseter muscle were recorded from 8 healthy men with normal permanent dentition during habitual chewing of a small cube of synthetic cellulose sponge which had absorbed distilled water. Three parameters of chewing rhythm, viz., cycle time, duration, and interval, were shown as the respective averages of 40 measurements of the EMG traces of a masticatory series of ...

BACKGROUND The high dental disease burden in developing countries has created a need to explore and develop cheap and accessible methods of dental disease prevention. Traditional toothbrushes (chewing-sticks) prepared from specific plants have been used for dental hygiene for generations. When properly used, chewing-sticks may be as effective as synthetic toothbrushes. This study set out to des...

INTRODUCTION Radiation-induced xerostomia is a frequent late side effect after treatment for oral and oropharyngeal cancers. This may induce swallowing difficulties, compromised oral well-being, reduced nutrition intake, or speech deficiencies. Consequently, quality of life is often impaired for these patients. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility to mechani...

Background: Khat is a large green shrub grown in Eastern to Southern Africa and extends to Arabian Peninsula. Khat has its own impact on mental and physical health of the chewers. Studies revealed that khat chewing was associated with frequent absenteeism from class and poor academic performance among students. Although khat has harmful consequences, little is known about factors associated wit...

BACKGROUND Gum chewing after cesarean section may stimulate bowel motility and decrease duration of postoperative ileus. OBJECTIVES The current study assessed the effect of chewing sugar-free gum on the return of bowel function, where cesarean section had been performed in nulliparous women. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a randomized clinical trial, 60 patients, scheduled for cesarean section we...

The present study was undertaken to determine the firing patterns and the mechanoreceptive field (RF) properties of neurons within the face primary motor cortex (face-MI) in relation to chewing and other orofacial movements in the awake monkey. Of a total of 107 face-MI neurons recorded, 73 of 74 tested had activity related to chewing and 47 of 66 neurons tested showed activity related to a tra...