Nestlé Research Center, Vers-Chez-les-Blancs, CH 1000-26, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Br J Nutr. 2014 Feb;111(3):403-14. doi: 10.1017/S0007114513002699. Epub 2013 Sep 24.
Mastication efficiency is defined as the efficiency of crushing food between the teeth and manipulating the resulting particles to form a swallowable food bolus. It is dependent on the orofacial anatomical features of the subject, the coordination of these anatomical features and the consistency of the food used during testing. Different measures have been used to indirectly quantify mastication efficiency as a function of children's age such as observations, food bolus characterisation, muscle activity measurement and jaw movement tracking. In the present review, we aim to describe the changes in the oral physiology (e.g. bone and muscle structure, teeth and soft tissues) of children and how these changes are associated with mastication abilities. We also review previous work on the effect of food consistency on children's mastication abilities and on their level of texture acceptance. The lack of reference foods and differences in testing methodologies across different studies do not allow us to draw conclusions about (1) the age at which mastication efficiency reaches maturity and (2) the effect of food consistency on the establishment of mature mastication efficiency. The effect of food consistency on the development of children's mastication efficiency has not been tested widely. However, both human and animal studies have reported the effect of food consistency on orofacial development, suggesting that a diet with harder textures enhances bone and muscle growth, which could indirectly lead to better mastication efficiency. Finally, it was also reported that (1) children are more likely to accept textures that they are able to manipulate and (2) early exposure to a range of textures facilitates the acceptance of foods of various textures later on. Recommending products well adapted to children's mastication during weaning could facilitate their acceptance of new textures and support the development of healthy eating habits.
咀嚼效率定义为牙齿粉碎食物的效率和对产生的颗粒进行操作以形成可吞咽食团的能力。它取决于受试者的口面解剖特征、这些解剖特征的协调性以及测试中使用的食物的一致性。已经使用了不同的方法来间接定量咀嚼效率作为儿童年龄的函数，例如观察、食团特征描述、肌肉活动测量和下颌运动跟踪。在本综述中，我们旨在描述儿童口腔生理学（例如骨骼和肌肉结构、牙齿和软组织）的变化以及这些变化与咀嚼能力的关系。我们还回顾了以前关于食物一致性对儿童咀嚼能力及其对质地接受程度的影响的工作。缺乏参考食物和不同研究之间测试方法的差异不允许我们得出关于以下结论：(1) 咀嚼效率达到成熟的年龄；(2) 食物一致性对成熟咀嚼效率的建立的影响。食物一致性对儿童咀嚼效率发展的影响尚未得到广泛测试。然而，人类和动物研究都报告了食物一致性对口面发育的影响，表明更硬质地的饮食可以促进骨骼和肌肉生长，这可能间接地导致更好的咀嚼效率。最后，还报告说：(1) 儿童更有可能接受他们能够操作的质地；(2) 早期接触各种质地可以促进以后对各种质地食物的接受。在断奶期间推荐适合儿童咀嚼的产品可以促进他们对新质地的接受，并有助于健康饮食习惯的发展。
