Lyrical Mastication

Mastication is a repetitive sequence of jaw opening and closing with a profile in the vertical plane called the chewing cycle. Mastication consists of a number of chewing cycles. The human chewing cycle consists of three phases

1. Opening phase: the mouth is opened and the mandible is depressed.

2. Closing phase: the mandible is raised towards the maxilla.

3. Occlusal or intercuspal phase: the mandible is stationary and the teeth from both upper and lower arches approximate.

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