Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)This study investigated the effects of a prosthetic appliance on the chewing function, evaluating the electrical activity of masseter and temporal muscles to characterize the chewing process using an artificial test material. Moreover, the chewing behavior with foods of different textures (chewing gum, raw carrot, cheese, banana and industrialized toast) was evaluated. Twenty-three partially edentulous children (12 girls and 11 boys, 7.10 +/- 0.74 year-old) participated. Electromyography and chewing behavior were determined before and 6 months after the appliance placement. During habitual chewing, the muscle activity values after the 6 months were higher (P < 0.001). Electromyographic recording (EMG) values were not correlated with body variables. At the two evaluations, significant differences occurred in the number of cycles, swallowing threshold and amount of food ingested for soft and hard foods. The increase in EMG values and the improvement in chewing natural foods were able to demonstrate the influence possibility of the partial removable denture on the muscles and masticatory functions in children.402240255Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP [03/11843-7]