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What is it about?

This study explores how children's oral functions - the essential abilities we use for eating, speaking, and other mouth movements - develop as they grow up. The researchers examined five key aspects of oral function in people aged 5 to 20 years: how strongly they can press with their tongue, how tightly they can close their lips, how well they can chew food, how forcefully they can bite, and how much their teeth contact each other when biting. The findings show that most oral functions gradually improve with age, but they develop at different rates. While tongue pressure, chewing ability, and bite force steadily increase as children grow older, lip pressure stabilizes early in childhood. Interestingly, the area where teeth make contact temporarily decreases between ages 5 and 12, likely because this is when children lose their baby teeth and get their permanent teeth. This research helps us better understand how children's oral functions naturally develop, which is important for identifying potential problems early and ensuring healthy growth. It provides valuable information for dentists, orthodontists, and other healthcare providers who work with children's oral health and development.

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Why is it important?

This research addresses a critical gap in our understanding of oral development during childhood and adolescence. While previous studies have looked at individual aspects of oral function, this is one of the first comprehensive investigations to examine multiple oral functions simultaneously across a broad age range from early childhood to young adulthood. The findings are particularly timely given the increasing recognition of how oral function affects overall health and development. Poor oral function can impact nutrition, speech development, social interaction, and even academic performance. By providing detailed insights into the normal patterns of oral functional development, this research enables healthcare providers to better identify and address potential developmental issues early. The study's unique approach of examining five different oral functions together reveals important patterns that weren't previously understood. For example, the discovery that lip pressure stabilizes early while other functions continue developing has significant implications for treatment timing. Similarly, documenting the temporary decrease in tooth contact area during the transition from primary to permanent teeth helps explain why some children may experience temporary changes in their chewing ability during this period. These findings have immediate practical applications for multiple healthcare fields: Dentists and orthodontists can better plan treatments around natural developmental patterns Speech therapists can set more accurate expectations for progress Pediatricians can better identify potential developmental concerns Healthcare providers can offer more precise guidance to parents about their children's oral development Understanding these developmental patterns is also crucial for the early identification of oral dysfunction, which can lead to better outcomes through timely intervention. This research provides evidence-based benchmarks that healthcare providers can use to evaluate whether a child's oral function is developing typically or might need additional support.

Perspectives

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As a researcher focused on oral development, this study represents a significant step forward in understanding how children's oral functions mature over time. What makes this work particularly meaningful is its comprehensive approach - rather than looking at individual functions in isolation, we examined multiple aspects of oral development simultaneously. This holistic view revealed fascinating patterns and relationships that hadn't been clearly documented before. One of the most intriguing findings was the discovery that different oral functions develop at varying rates. The observation that lip pressure stabilizes early while other functions continue developing throughout adolescence challenges some previous assumptions about oral development. This finding has made me reconsider how we approach early intervention strategies and the timing of various treatments. The temporary decrease in occlusal contact area during the transition from primary to permanent teeth was another compelling discovery. This finding helps explain something many practitioners have observed clinically but hadn't been able to quantify before. It provides a scientific basis for reassuring parents about temporary changes in their children's biting and chewing abilities during this transition period. What excites me most about this research is its potential practical impact. Having worked with children throughout my career, I've seen firsthand how oral function affects their daily lives - from eating and speaking to social interaction and self-confidence. These findings provide concrete guidance for healthcare providers to better support children's oral development and identify potential issues earlier. Looking ahead, I believe this research opens up important new directions for investigation. While we've established these developmental patterns, we now need to better understand the factors that influence them and how we can optimize interventions to support healthy oral development. This study has laid a foundation for future research that could further enhance our ability to support children's oral health and development. This work reinforces my belief in the importance of taking a developmental perspective in oral health research. Understanding how these functions naturally develop helps us better support children's growth and development, ultimately contributing to their overall health and well-being.

Hiroyuki Kanzaki
Tsurumi University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Quantitative Comparison of Age‐Related Development of Oral Functions During Growing Age, Clinical and Experimental Dental Research, November 2024, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/cre2.70033.
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