Investigation on the relationship between body posture and oral function in adolescents

<p>Recently, the decline in mastication, swallowing, and respiratory function has become an important issue due to developmental delay and inadequate acquisition of oral function in children. The failure to develop oral function is related to body type, nutrition and respiration as “other functions” besides eating and speaking functions. In this study, we investigated the relationship between body posture and oral function during adolescence, just before the completion of the final permanent dentition. <br>The subjects were 96 pediatric patients after the beginning of second molar eruption （45 males and 51 females, mean age 16.6±2.7 years） who had been under regular management at one dental clinic. Body posture was classified into two types: normal and slouching posture according to subjective judgments by the individual and dentist. As oral functions, maximum bite force, occlusal contact area, lip pressure, tongue pressure, and masticatory ability were measured. <br>Of the 96 subjects, 34 and 62 subjects were assessed to have normal and slouching posture, respectively. The mean values of lip pressure, tongue pressure, and masticatory ability in the subjects with slouching posture were lower than those with normal posture. The mean values of maximum occlusal force and occlusal contact area in the subjects with slouching posture were almost the same or slightly higher than those with normal posture. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that four factors affecting body posture were substituted, with masticatory ability being a significant coefficient. These results suggest that body posture is significantly related to masticatory ability.</p>