Objective and Subjective Evaluation of Masticatory Efficiency in Periodontal Patients Before and After Basic Periodontal Therapy

Background: periodontal disease is a multifactorial infectious pathology that affect dental supporting tissues, impacting the health and quality of life of patients. Assessing chewing efficiency before and after periodontal therapy is crucial to better understand its impact on the quality of life of periodontal patients. Aim: to determine whether basic periodontal therapy improves masticatory ability and efficiency in patients with mild to moderate periodontitis. Methods: a prospective, longitudinal, case series study was carried out in 42 periodontal patients treated at the University Odontology Clinic. Masticatory efficiency before and after basic periodontal treatment was assessed using both objective (HueCheck Gum Test) and subjective (Quality of Masticatory Function questionnaire: QMFq) methods. Results: significant improvements (P = 0.0001) were observed in periodontal variables like as hygiene index (HI), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL), as well as in the initial and final QMFq total score (P = 0.045). In addition, significant differences were found in post-treatment QMFq scores related to parafunctional habits (P = 0.046) and facial pattern, especially in meat consumption (P = 0.042), fruits and vegetables (P = 0.007, P = 0.044). Conclusions: basic periodontal treatment does not improve masticatory efficiency of patients with mild-moderate periodontitis objectively, evaluated by means of the test of mixing two chewing gums, but it does subjectively.