Purpose: This clinical trial evaluated the influence of denture adhesive (DA) use on masticatory function in denture wearers according to their denture-bearing ridge status. Materials and Methods: Thirty edentulous subjects, wearing new well-fitting dentures, were classified as having either a normal or resorbed ridge. Mastication was evaluated in patients who completed chewing tests with and without two DA substances (cream or strips), which were randomly assigned. A chewing test with a sieve method analyzed masticatory performance. A kinesiographic device evaluated chewing cycle, and a visual analog scale measured masticatory ability. Data were submitted to Mauchly's sphericity test, and PROC MIXED procedures were conducted on repeated measures. Tukey-Kramer tests performed appropriate statistical comparisons (P ≤ .05). Results: DA use increased masticatory performance and ability in patients with both ridge types (P .05). Subjects with resorbed ridges showed the best masticatory performance (P .001) and lowest chewing cycle time (P .001) with DA cream, followed by DA strips and the nonadhesive trial. For normal ridge subjects, decreases in ×50 values were only significant with DA use (P .05), regardless of DA type. The denture-bearing ridge status alone did not alter masticatory function in any of the parameters evaluated. Conclusion: DAs improve mastication by shortening the chewing cycle and by enhancing chewing ability and performance. Int J Prosthodont 2014;27:140-146. doi: 10.11607/ijp.3674