Masticatory performance and food acceptability in persons with removable partial dentures, full dentures and intact natural dentition.

This investigation indicated that measurable declines in masticatory function due to missing teeth, with and without prosthetic replacements, alter perceptual estimates of food acceptability. Using 1,133 male participants from the Veterans Administration Dental Longitudinal Study, individuals were classified into nine dentition categories to evaluate the effect of impaired masticatory ability. The data demonstrated that when limited declines in perceived masticatory function occur, perceptual estimates of Taste Acceptability, Texture Acceptability, and Ingestion Frequency for the 13 test foods utilized are not significantly modified. In contrast, when more severe dentition losses occur, the rheological properties of each food determine the degree to which these perceptual measures, especially Perceived Ease of Chewing, will be altered. Although restorative therapy can lead to concomitant improvements in masticatory function, low perceptual responses may still be observed. These appear to be largely a function of the physical attributes of the foods ingested.