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We first conducted a questionnaire study about the development of mastication of EVLBW (extremely low and very low birthweight) infants aged 2 to 4 years in 1998, and results showed that they tended to "dislike of firm foods", to be "picky eaters" and to have "trouble swallowing foods with a mouth full of food/drink", when compared with the normal birthweight (NBW) infants. The purpose of the present study is so designed to investigate moreover the development of masticatory function, the oral and facial shape, dental problems, and the relationship between systemic growth and these issues in EVLBW infants. We carried out a follow-up questionnaire study 5 years later in 2003 and compared current masticatory function among EVLBW infants, the low birthweight (LBW) and NBW infants. A significantly higher number of EVLBW infants were considered to be "small eaters", but no differences were found in the items: "picky eating", "dislike of firm foods" and "trouble swallowing foods with a mouth full of food/drink". This differed from a study conducted 5 years earlier. The guardians of the EVLBW infants were worried about language delay significantly and still worried about the shape of the child's head and face significantly more often. No significant differences were found in the results of dental screening in school. In conclusion, the guardians of the EVLBW infants felt that masticatory problems decreased as their children grew. The EVLBW infants were suggested to catch up with normal infants in masticatory function by early school age. children, we investigated the oral and facial shape, the development of masticatory function, dental problems, and the relationship between systemic growth and these issues in EVLBW infants. We first conducted a questionnaire study of EVLBW infants aged 2 to 4 years in 1998, and results showed that they tended to "dislike firm foods", to be "picky eaters" and to have "trouble swallowing foods with a mouth full of food/drink", when compared with normal birthweight (NBW) infants. We carried out a follow-up questionnaire study 5 years later in 2003 and compared current masticatory function among the EVLBW infants, the low birthweight (LBW) infants and NBW infants.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes with age in the occlusal force and the masticatory muscle activity in extremely low birthweight (ELBW) and very low birthweight (VLBW) infants, longitudinally. The subjects were eight EVLBW (ELBW and VLBW combined) infants in Hellman's Dental Stage IIA (mean age: 5 years and 0 months) and IIIA (mean age: 8 years and 3 months), and as controls eleven full-term infants who visited the Pediatric Dental Clinic of Asahi University for dental checkups (IIA: mean age 5 years and 4 months, IIIA: mean age 8 years and 3 months). The occlusal force of EVLBW infants at dental stage IIA was 266.4 N and different from the standard value of 391.8 N, however, no difference was observed between EVLBW infants (565.2 N) and the standard value (520.0 N) at dental stage IIIA. Total muscle activity reduced with age and showed a tendency to be closer to the values of full-term infants. When changes with age in occlusal force and total muscle activity of EVLBW infants were investigated, occlusal force increased with age but total muscle activity decreased with age, suggesting a negative correlation. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that they gradually gain on the full-term children in masticatory function by the time of the deciduous dentition period, therefore, it is considered that problems in relation to eating behavior are temporary and that delayed masticatory function is normalized before catching up with the full-term children in systemic physical growth, i.e., 8 to 15 years of age. and that their parents or caregivers (hereafter "guardians") were anxious about child rearing immediately after birth. They often limited the child's voluntary behavior and were continuously overly concerned about the child's growth and development and diet. Regarding dental problems, ELBW and VLBW (EVLBW: ELBW and VLBW combined) infants are cared for in incubators in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and are fed by nasogastric tube and by bottle for several months-this may have an influence on oral and maxillofacial anatomy, including dentition and the development of sucking and masticatory functions 3-6). Matsubara et al. (2005) 7) indicated that a short sucking cycle time, poor sucking pressure and unstable sucking rhythm