The effect of salivary flow rate on the food mastication in children

为探讨乳牙列儿童食物咀嚼的机制，我们从咀嚼和品尝食物、分泌唾液、吞咽食物丸等方面进行探讨。我们首次将Edger等人描述的咀嚼-吐痰技术应用于儿童，建立了一种研究儿童食物咀嚼的方法。我们还建立了一个公式来计算无意中吞咽或保留在口中而没有咳出的食物的百分比。在主要研究中，当使用相同的食物和量时，每个受试者的每一口食物的正常重量，一口食物的正常咀嚼时间和食物丸的水分含量都显示出惊人的规律。每1克食物的平均咀嚼时间与食物的初始含水量成反比。食物丸的水含量百分比与每种食物的初始水含量有显著相关性，也表明它至少需要50%的水才能吞咽。尽管每个实验对象的唾液流速随食物的数量而变化。我们的研究还表明，在产生唾液流动方面，食物的味觉刺激比咀嚼的机械刺激重要得多。综上所述，我们的研究表明，对于软质食物，食物丸的水分含量可能是决定吞咽的重要因素之一，而一些食物质地如味道和食物含水量百分比等分泌的唾液流量对儿童的食物咀嚼非常重要。

To develop the study of mechanism for food mastication in children who have decidious dentition, we approached from the aspects of chewing and tasting of food, secreted saliva, and swallowing of food bolus.We applied the chewing-spit technique described by Edger et al. to children for the first time, and established a method for the studying on the food mastication In children. We also established the formula to calculate the percentage of food either inadvertently swallowed or retained in the mouth and not expectorated.In the main study, the normal weight of food per mouthful, the normal chewing time for one mouthful and the water content of the food bolus in each subjects showed surprisingly regular values when used the same foods and amounts. The mean - chewing time per I g of each food was inversely related to the initial water content of the food. The percent water content of the food bolus showed significant correlation to the initial water content of each food and also showed that it needed at least 50 % of the water content to swallow. Although the salivary flow rates in response to given foods and amounts in each subjects. Our study also revealed that the effect of the gustatory stimulation of foods was much more important than the mechanical stimulation from chewing in producing the flow of saliva.In conclusion, our study revealed that the water content of the food bolus, in case of soft foods, could be one of the important factors in the decision to swallow, and the salivary flow secreted by some food textures such as taste and the percent water content of food were of great importance to the food mastication In children.