Indicators of masticatory performance among elderly complete denture wearers.
The literature on current techniques for evaluating the masticatory capacity leads to categorizing them into two groups: objective masticatory tests and questionnaires that evaluate the subject masticatory capacity. This study examines how a simple questionnaire on the reported capacity to chew certain food can predict the masticatory performance of edentulous elderly patients. The masticatory performance of 367 completely edentulous elderly persons was measured with the Swallowing Threshold Test Index and compared with their reported masticatory capacity previously measured with a questionnaire on the capacity of the individual to chew nine food items. A total of 47.4% of the individuals had a low masticatory performance. This problem was more frequent in women (51.7%) than in men (41.8%). In measuring the reported masticatory performance with seven of the nine food items listed in the questionnaire, this indicator predicted the masticatory performance with a sensitivity of 65.5% and a specificity of 81.9%. However, even though the measure of prosthesis retention/stability is related to the masticatory performance, it was not a good predictor.