Morphological and masticatory performance variation of mouth behavior groups

Food texture preference and product acceptance are hypothesized to be influenced by mouth behavior. Recent work identified four mouth behavior (MB) groups that describe most consumers in the United States: Chewers, Crunchers, Smooshers, and Suckers. While these behavioral preferences are thought to play a significant role in food selection and purchasing decisions, it is unknown how closely they relate to body and oral cavity measures as well as masticatory apparatus performance. Our objectives were twofold: to determine whether MB groups are related to (a) morphological variation in body, head, and oral cavity size and (b) masticatory apparatus performance (i.e., maximum jaw gape, maximum bite forces at the incisors and first molar). Measurements were collected following an online MB assessment (JBMB Mouth Behavior Typing Tool) where participants self-identified as one of the four types of consumers. As expected, univariate associations were observed between masticatory performance and overall body as well as oral cavity size. These relationships did not persist when assessed with multivariate methods. MB groups did not differ by body, head, or oral cavity measurements; maximum gape; or maximum bite force. Because of small sample sizes for Smooshers and Suckers—a reflection of their limited prevalence in the U.S. population—we interpret the results for these groups with caution. We can more confidently conclude based on our sample that Chewers and Crunchers do not differ in size, bite force, or maximum gape, suggesting other factors primarily drive food texture choice and preference in these individuals.