The effect of gum chewing on xerostomia and salivary flow rate in elderly and medically compromised subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Xerostomia negatively affects quality of life. Symptoms include oral dryness; thirst; difficulty speaking, chewing, and swallowing food; oral discomfort; mouth soft tissue soreness and infections; and rampant tooth decay. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate if gum chewing is an intervention that results in objective improvements in salivary flow rates and subjective relief from xerostomia.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of mastication on sustained attention in healthy adults.

The aims of this paper are to conduct: 1) a systematic review of the effects of mastication on sustained attention, and 2) a meta-analysis of the effects of mastication on the performance of participants undertaking cognitive tests. Papers were obtained from MEDLINE and PsycInfo using a systematic approach incorporating defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-one papers linking mastication and sustained attention were reviewed.

Does reduced mastication influence cognitive and systemic health during aging?

There is a growing body of literature which suggests that oral health and mastication can influence cognitive and systemic health during aging. However, it is currently unclear whether oral health, masticatory efficiency, cognitive health and systemic health merely deteriorate independently with age, or whether mechanisms exist linking mastication to cognitive and systemic health directly. The aim of this paper is to review the extent to which reduced mastication influences cognitive and systemic health during aging because this knowledge may underpin future interventions that improve quality of life.