The purpose of this study is to compare the masticatory efficiency and the physiological activity of masticatory muscles among patients with removable partial dentures (R.P.D.) and patients with natural dentition. The masticatory efficiency is assessed from the duration of chewing sequences for various foods, from the first masticatory cycle to the swallowing. The physiological activity is tested by the duration of the inhibition reflex called the "silent period" (S.P.) obtained upon each muscle examined: 29 subjects are examined, 24 of them had a R.P.D.; they were divided into four groups according to the extent of their edentation; 5 control subjects have full natural dentition. The study is performed using global electromyography of the two masseter muscles and the two anterior temporal muscles. The mastication of the control subjects appears to have a regular alternance of working potential and periods of rest. The duration of the chewing sequences is determined by the nature of the food, brief for soft food, long for hard food. The mastication of patients with R.P.D. appears more irregular with a lengthening of active phases. The duration of chewing sequences is significantly longer for the control subjects. The duration of the S.P. is 19-21 milliseconds for the masseter muscles of the patients with dentures and the control patients, and 20-22 milliseconds for the temporal muscles for the same individuals. The differences of the S.P. durations between control subjects and patients with R.P.D. is never significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)