Act of grinding or crushing food (chewing) preparatory to deglutition and digestion. The masticatory cycle involves three‐dimensional movements of the mandible observed in the frontal, horizontal, and sagittal planes.
Chewing, grinding, and tearing foods with the teeth while it is mixed with saliva.
The process of chewing food, which is dependent upon intact jawbones and adequate teeth.
The act whereby, as a result of movements of the lower jaw, lips, tongue, and cheek, food is reduced to a condition in which it is ready to be acted on by the gastric juices in the process of digestion. Adequate mastication before swallowing is an essential part of the digestive process.
Coordination of the large temporal, masseter, pterygoid muscles, and other smaller muscles of the mandible and tongue is required, under the influence of the mandibular division of cranial nerve V.
The act of masticating food involves the canines and incisors, which are the front teeth, cutting through the food. Following this, the tongue pushes the food towards the back of the mouth, where the upper and lower premolars and molars, known as the back teeth, work together to grind the food as the lower jaw moves. Saliva is introduced into the mix, aiding in the breakdown of the food for easier swallowing.