Leake reported an index of chewing ability based on the ability to eat various representative foods. The author is from the University of Toronto.
Able to Chew
Score
Difficulty Chewing
whole apple, uncut
5
most difficult
steak or chops (firm meat)
4
raw carrot or celery stick
3
salad (lettuce or spinach)
2
boiled vegetables
1
none of the above
0
easiest
Interpretation:
• A score of 5 indicates chewing competence.
• A score of 0 to 4 was associated with some deficiency in chewing ability.
Factors associated with impaired chewing disability in a person with teeth:
(1) no posterior pairs of natural teeth
(2) need for urgent treatment
Performance:
• The observed reproducibility was 0.98.
• The coefficient of scalability was 0.68.
• A score > 4 had a sensitivity of 0.66 and specificity of 0.82 for prevention of eating properly. The negative predictive value was 0.91.
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Specialty: Otolaryngology, Nutrition
