{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:19:36Z","timestamp":1785403176579,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002868","name":"Chosun University Dental Hospital","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002868","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01p78w079","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Bioengineering"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Within the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders, masticatory myalgia is framed around muscle hyperactivity, yet a recognizable subgroup shows the opposite profile\u2014low muscle tone, fatigue, masticatory pain, and a persistent sense that the bite no longer fits, without structural dental change\u2014and responds poorly to conventional conservative care. We introduce G-SCORE (Gum-chewing-mediated Sensorimotor Calibration of Occlusion through Rhythmic Exercise), a proprioceptive recalibration strategy delivered as a bilateral gum-chewing (BGC) protocol: two equal halves of one sugar-free gum chewed simultaneously and symmetrically on both posterior segments in short, patient-titrated sessions, delivering balanced, rhythmic, low-load input to the trigeminal sensorimotor system. In a retrospective series of 41 patients, we characterized within-subject changes in pain, mandibular mobility, and occlusal parameters. Masticatory pain fell from 5.0 \u00b1 2.9 to 0.7 \u00b1 0.9 (0\u201310; n = 27; p &lt; 0.001; r = 0.87), with 85% achieving a \u22652-point reduction. Occluding tooth positions and mouth opening also recovered; in an anterior open-bite subgroup, overbite improved (n = 6; p = 0.031). The observed changes were dominated by pain relief and restored bilateral occlusal contact rather than by raw force\u2014a pattern more compatible with sensorimotor recalibration than with muscle hypertrophy. This low-cost, non-invasive technique may help selected patients avoid irreversible occlusal treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering13070826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T12:00:17Z","timestamp":1784548817000},"page":"826","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Bilateral Gum Chewing as Proprioceptive Sensorimotor Re-Education for Patients with Masticatory Muscle Weakness Presenting with Orofacial Pain and Perceived Occlusal Change: A Technical Note with a Retrospective Case Series"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5237-005X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hyun-Jeong","family":"Park","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jong-Mo","family":"Ahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6428-2461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Young-Jun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5586-8195","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ji-Won","family":"Ryu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1103","DOI":"10.1111\/joor.13036","article-title":"Effects of chewing exercises on the occlusal force and masseter muscle thickness in community-dwelling Koreans aged 65 years and older: A randomised assessor-blind trial","volume":"47","author":"Kim","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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