Abstract:
Chewing is the process in which pieces of food
are ground into a fine state, and mixed with saliva. The
process of chewing is affected by characteristics of oral
physiology, initial food properties, and neuromuscular
control of chewing. The effect of food properties with
different diet styles in Japan and Sri Lanka were examined
in relation to both chewing and salivation. The study
was conducted on ten adults each from Japan and Sri
Lanka who were healthy without any dental illness and
did not skip the main meal time. The participants were
asked to fill a questionnaire regarding meal pattern, take
a sample of saliva before and after the meals to weigh
the amount of saliva. They were asked to record a video
while eating to count the number of chewing times. The
collected data were analysed using Mann–Whitney U
test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The
average chewing times was more in Japanese (776.1 times)
than Sri Lankans (507.9times). The nutritious value of
the food was nearly same for both parties. There was no
statistically significant difference in salivation between
Japanese (0.214g) and Sri Lankans (0.805g). The results
of the study were influenced by several factors including
the food habits, starters of the main meal, number of meal
times, instruments using while eating, behavioural changes,
mood swings of particular time, food preference. It was
not possible to change the confounding factors affecting
the study as it was a descriptive study. The study had
shown that there was no significant correlation between
chewing times and difference in salivation with regard
to different diet styles in Japan and Sri Lanka.
