COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF MASTICATORY EFFICIENCY AND NUTRITIONAL STATUSOF PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER A FULL MOUTH REHABILITATAION -PROSPECTIVECLINICAL TRIAL

Aim:To evaluate masticatory efficiency and nutritional status prior and subsequent to a full mouth rehabilitation therapy. Materials and Methods:The study followed the CONSORT guidelines and was a prospective clinical trial. This trial was conducted on ten patients who were undergoing full mouth rehabilitation. Masticatory efficiency was calculated before the start and 1 month post completion of rehabilitation where the subjects were given 9 grams of peanuts (3 grams - 3 times). The participant was instructed to complete 40 chewing strokes. The masticated food was subsequently collected in a disposable container. Additionally, the participant rinsed their mouth with water twice, and the resulting rinsate was combined with the chewed food in the same disposable container. Following thorough mixing of the chewed food using a glass rod, the mixture was strained through a 10 mesh sieve. This specific test serves the purpose of quantitatively assessing the chewed food. The strained liquid, referred to as the filtrate, was then carefully transferred into tubes and subjected to centrifugation at 3000 revolutions per minute for a duration of 5 minutes. This centrifugal process effectively separated the filtrate into two distinct components: a solid pellet and a liquid supernatant. The supernatant, or the liquid portion, was subsequently discarded, while the pellet, or the solid residue, was weighed using a digital scale. In this study, masticatory performance was quantified according to the methodology proposed by Yurkstas and Manly. This evaluation encompassed assessing particle size, as determined by the size of the sieve employed, by calculating the ratio of the weight of the test food that passed through the sieve to the total weight of the test food that was recovered. This ratio was then expressed as a percentage. The initial wet weight of the materials was computed as the starting point for these calculations. The specimens were then placed in a hotair oven at 40℃ for 8 hours and again the dry weights were measured. Fasting venous blood samples from each participant were collected for means of measuring hemoglobin, total serum calcium, total serum protein, and total cholesterol levels as indicators of nutritional status. The tests were carried out at similar intervals as chewing efficiency. Results:All of the patients showed a statistically significant improvement in masticatory efficiency post full mouth rehabilitation (p <.001) which was calculated with Yurkstas and Manly formula. There was no significant relationship between age, gender and occlsal scheme provided to the masticatory efficiency pre and post FMR. Paired sample t test revealed that haemoglobin, total serum protein and total ionic calcium showed a significant improvement post full mouth rehabilitation at 1 month follow up (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in cholesterol values. Conclusion:We can conclude that full mouth rehabilitation leads to a notable increase in masticatory efficiency. A significant improvement in nutritional status was also seen post completion of therapy. There was no influence of age, gender and occlusal scheme on chewing efficiency