Tooth Contacts in the Lateral Occlusal Position Comparing the Two Most Representative Patterns of Masticatory Path

• Published in: Nihon Hotetsu Shika Gakkai Zasshi Vol. 45; no. 6; pp. 690 - 699
• Main Authors: Shiga, Hiroshi, Ueda, Naoko, Kobayashi, Yoshinori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Prosthodontic Society 2001
• Subjects: incisal point; lateral occlusal position; mastication; masticatory path; occlusal contact
• ISSN: 0389-5386; 1883-177X
• DOI: 10.2186/jjps.45.690

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment was to clarify the difference in the occlusal contact condition between the two representative patterns of movement path in mastication of healthy subjects. Methods: Twenty healthy subjects who have a pattern that opens from centric occlusion (CO) toward the working side, and closes toward CO in a convex fashion (group I), and 20 healthy subjects who have a pattern that opens from CO toward the balancing side first, and then toward the working side, and closes toward CO in a convex fashion (group III), in their 20s, were employed. The occlusal contact conditions at the lateral occlusal positions when the mandibular incisal point was moved laterally from CO for 1mm (L1), 2mm (L2), and 3mm (L3) were compared betweenthe groups and among the lateral positions. Results: The number of contacting teeth decreased significantly, in order, from L1 to L2 to L3, on both the working and balancing sides. Group I tended to have fewer tooth distribution for the frequency of occlusal contacts for both the working and balancing sides, and a highly significant difference was found between the two groups on the working side and the balancing side of L 2 and the working side of L3. Conclusion: It was concluded that, though the occlusal contact condition varied according to the distance of lateral movement, in general, group I had lesser distribution of contacting teeth than group III, and this was especially evident when the mandibular incisal point was moved 2mm from centric occlusion. And the difference in this occlusal contact condition probably contributed to the difference between these two masticatory path patterns.