Purpose: This study investigated the usefulness of a newly developed color-changeable chewing gum for evaluating masticatory performance.
Materials and methods: The color changes of the gum after chewing were measured using the L*a*b* color space defined by the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage with a spectrophotometer. Numerical scores and a color scale were developed to easily evaluate color change. Numerical scores were assigned corresponding to the degree of color change, and a color scale was made by using the numerical scores. Four examiners graded the gum chewed by 18 fully dentate subjects by using the color scale.
Results: As the number of chews increased, the degree of color change increased significantly. The percentages of correct answers by examiners using the color scale method ranged from 67% to 83%.
Conclusion: The results indicate that this simple method may be used to quantitatively evaluate masticatory performance and may be reliable enough to be used clinically.