Search

Because various mastication-related factors influence gastric activity, the functional relationship between mastication and gastric function has not been fully elucidated. To investigate the influence of mastication on gastric emptying and motility, we conducted a randomized trial to compare the effects of mastication on gastric emptying and gastric myoelectrical activity under conditions that excluded the influences of food comminution, taste, and olfaction. A 13C-acetate breath test with electrogastrography and electrocardiography was performed in 14 healthy men who ingested a test meal with or without chewing gum. Autonomic nerve activity was evaluated by fluctuation analysis of heart rate. Gastric emptying was significantly delayed in the ‘ingestion with mastication’ group. Gastric myoelectrical activity was significantly suppressed during mastication and increased gradually in the post-mastication phase. A decrease in the high-frequency power of heart rate variability was observed coincidentally with gastric myoelectrical activity suppression. These findings suggest that initial gastric emptying is suppressed by mastication, and that the suppression is caused by mastication-induced inhibition of gastric activity (UMIN Clinical Trial Registration no. UMIN000005351). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We performed an orthodontic treatment combined with mandibular distraction osteogenesis in a 15-year-old patient who wanted a correction of a chin deficiency and a protruding upper lip. The patient had an Angle Class II division 1 malocclusion with mandibular retrusion, a low mandibular plane angle, and scissors bite. First, a quad-helix appliance was applied to the mandibular dentition to correct the scissors bite in the bilateral premolar region. Later, a preadjusted edgewise appliance was applied to the maxillary and mandibular teeth. After 3 days, a mandibular distraction osteogenesis was performed. During and after the distraction, the open bite between the upper and lower dental arches was corrected using up and down elastics. The total treatment time with the edgewise appliance was 14 months. A skeletal Class I apical base relationship, good facial profile, and optimum intercuspation of the teeth were achieved with the treatment. The jaw-movement pattern on the frontal view did not change during gum chewing. However, the maximum gap without pain increased. The electromyographic (EMG) activity of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles, and maximum occlusal force increased. The present case report suggests that an orthodontic treatment combined with mandibular distraction osteogenesis in a patient with mandibular retrusion in the late growth period might be effective for improving stomatognathic function.