Journal article
Chewing efficiency in children with motor speech disorders
European archives of paediatric dentistry, Vol.27, pp.75-85
02/2026
DOI: 10.1007/s40368-025-01095-6
PMCID: PMC12963083
PMID: 40833474
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate chewing efficiency in children with speech sound disorders (SSD). With a focus on those with motor speech disorders (MSD).
Method
A clinical sample of 101 children with SSDs (78 with MSD), aged 4–9 years, and a control group of 76 typically developing (TD) children participated. Chewing efficiency was assessed using the two-colour Hue-Check© chewing gum test. A computer-based image analysis measured colour mixing after 20 chewing cycles, generating the outcome variable SDHue.
Results
An independent samples t-test showed that children with SSD chewed less efficiently than TD children. A one-way ANOVA revealed that children with MSD + (i.e., all children with MSD who also had concomitant language-oriented diagnoses [LD] and/or oral motor developmental delay [ODD]) aged 7–9 years had significantly lower chewing efficiency than age-matched TD peers (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.305).
Conclusion
Children with MSD demonstrated reduced chewing efficiency compared to their TD peers. Possibly reflecting a broader, not yet fully understood, symptom complex. Oral motor developmental delay (ODD) was common across the entire SSD group. These findings underline the importance of future research exploring symptom interrelations and guiding targeted interventions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Chewing efficiency in children with motor speech disorders
- Creators
- H. Björelius - Karolinska InstitutetG. Tsilingaridis - Karolinska InstitutetF. Johansson - Karolinska InstitutetJ. Trang - Karolinska InstitutetA. Grigoriadis - Karolinska InstitutetR. Thorman - Karolinska InstitutetH. Terband - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- European archives of paediatric dentistry, Vol.27, pp.75-85
- DOI
- 10.1007/s40368-025-01095-6
- PMID
- 40833474
- PMCID
- PMC12963083
- NLM abbreviation
- Eur Arch Paediatr Dent
- ISSN
- 1818-6300
- eISSN
- 1996-9805
- Publisher
- SPRINGER
- Grant note
- Stiftelsen Promobilia
We are grateful to the children and caregivers from the study group and the control group approving to take part in this study. We also want to thank the speech language pathologists at OMC who helped to collect the data. A special and warm thank you to Isabell Hammarlund. We would like to thank Professor Martin Schimmel at the University of Bern, Switzerland for all his help with questions regarding the Hue-Check chewing gum and a warm thank you to Flavio Gerber for his help with analyses of the chewing gum samples.
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 08/20/2025
- Date published
- 02/2026
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Record Identifier
- 9984958294502771
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