OBJECTIVES: To verify the influence of mastication in atypical swallowing by comparing smokers and nonsmokers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a field study with a prospective cross-sectional descriptive and comparative design comparing smokers and nonsmokers and comprising 24 participants in each group. The following masticatory aspects that may influence the swallowing pattern were analyzed: difficulty chewing, chewing food, crushing of the food, chewing pattern, speed of chewing, atypical muscular contractions, and lip closure. In addition, muscle behavior during swallowing was assessed by evaluating the contraction of the orbicularis and mental muscles and contraction of the neck muscles, together with the presence of head movement during swallowing and residues after swallowing. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Analysis with the Fisher's exact test revealed no statistically significant differences between the study groups in relation to the masticatory aspects and no significant influence of masticatory pattern on muscle compensation during swallowing. These findings corroborate other studies that do not identify a relationship between variability of the masticatory pattern and the appearance of atypical muscle compensation during swallowing, and do not identify tobacco as a determinative factor in these changes. In conclusion, other factors cause the appearance of atypical swallowing, as well as variability in sensory perception, of smokers.
