Does oral health people imparirments modify bolus formation, bolus characteristics and food comfortability of meat products?
Résumé
Ageing is often accompanied by oral impairments like tooth loss or decrease saliva flow that play a key role in eating behavior. In the context of aging population, the aim of this study is 1- to understand the influence of dental status and salivary flow on the meat bolus formation and characteristics in function of meat structure, 2- to investigate the link between the food bolus properties and the food comfortability (as defined by (Vandenbergue-Descamps et al., 2017)) during meat consumption. This was achieved by asking elderly people (n=65) with good oral health (17H, 16F, age=73±6, UFP n=8±1) or poor oral health (15H, 17F, age=75±6, UFP n=3±1) to consume 4 meat products with modified texture (minced chicken, laminated beef, shredded chicken and shredded beef). During the 4 sessions, we measured chewing frequency and bolus properties (salivary content, particles size and rheological properties). Furthermore, the subjects rated the 4 meat products using a comfortability questionnaire. The results showed that people with good oral health have a higher masticatory frequency. They incorporate more saliva to their bolus and produce smaller particles and their bolus are less firm. They perceived the meat products as fattier, more juicy and doughy and less hard than people with poor oral health. The influence of oral health on food bolus characteristics are similar whatever the meat studied. Whatever the oral health, laminated beef is the least comfortable and the least “easy to eat” product. It gives a bolus instrumentally and sensorially harder with higher particles size, needs more saliva before swallow. The elderly perceived it more difficult to masticate, humidify, and swallow. However, it is noticeable that people with poor oral health find the meat products studied easier to consume than people with good oral health.