IMPORTANT: Aimed at the general public, the Bücco Guide is a general educational guide. Its content presents some of the most common dental practices. However, there are many approaches and philosophies in dentistry and your dentist / specialist will be able to advise you on what he believes to be the most appropriate for your oral health. Do not hesitate to consult a dentist / specialist for more information.
Chewing is essential to digestion because it prepares and facilitates the passage of food ingested into the digestive tract. So, to digest well, you must first chew well. Chewing is done in the mouth and involves the movements of the jaws, tongue and cheeks. During chewing, the food is transformed into a “food bowl” that can be swallowed easily, without risk of choking. |
Chewing plays its role in the food process in three stages:
The movements of the jaws are essentially the result of the action of two powerful muscles whose contraction, supported by the bones of the skull, mobilizes the lower jaw and temporal muscles from top to bottom. The cheek muscles facilitate movement by constantly bringing food back between the two rows of teeth, allowing food to continue to be crushed. The saliva, during chewing, impregnates the food, which is first reduced to small pieces. This saliva, produced in large quantities, softens the food mass and at the same time exerts its chemical properties through enzymes. Teeth have an essential action in chewing. Adult humans have thirty-two teeth: sixteen at the top and sixteen at the bottom. These are of three types: incisors, canines and molars. Each kind has its own specific role. Two muscles also have a very important action in chewing: the temporal muscle and the masseter. Both operate the jaw joint. The tongue kneads the food and replaces it indefinitely between the teeth, just like the cheeks. |
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If you have difficulty chewing, it is advisable to make an appointment with your dentist, who can assess your condition and conduct a thorough examination (with or without an X-ray). If he or she feels that the causes are within his or her control, the dentist can recommend a dental treatment plan. Your dentist may also recommend you to a maxillofacial surgeon (oral surgeon), oral pathologist (ENT), orthodontist, periodontist or other specialist with special training in the treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. The treatment may also include:
It is also recommended to modulate your diet according to the chewing problems encountered. Until adequate treatment of chewing disorders is achieved, it is wise to modify your diet and prefer softer, easy-to-chew foods. In cases of hypotonia (a disorder often found in people with Down’s Syndrome 21), chewing activity may be affected. Here again, it is sufficient to adapt the diet by preferring rather soft foods. On the other hand, other neurological disorders imply an almost total impossibility to chew. The only adequate treatment is a soft diet that requires little effort, as the swallowing reflex can also be altered. |
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