Relationship among malocclusion, number of occlusal pairs and mastication

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationship among malocclusion, number of occlusal pairs, masticatory performance, masticatory time and masticatory ability in completely dentate subjects. Eighty healthy subjects (mean age = 19.40 ± 4.14 years) were grouped according to malocclusion diagnosis (n = 16): Class I, Class II-1, Class II-2, Class III and Normocclusion (control). Number of occlusal pairs was determined clinically. Masticatory performance was evaluated by the sieving method, and the time used for the comminute test food was registered as the masticatory time. Masticatory ability was measured by a dichotomic self-perception questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by one-way ANOVA, ANOVA on ranks, Chi-Square and Spearman tests. Class II-1 and III malocclusion groups presented a smaller number of occlusal pairs than Normocclusion (p < 0.0001), Class I (p < 0.001) and II-2 (p < 0.0001) malocclusion groups. Class I, II-1 and III malocclusion groups showed lower masticatory performance values compared to Normocclusion (p < 0.05) and Class II-2 (p < 0.05) malocclusion groups. There were no differences in masticatory time (p = 0.156) and ability (χ 2 = 3.58/p = 0.465) among groups. Occlusal pairs were associated with malocclusion (rho = 0.444/p < 0.0001) and masticatory performance (rho = 0.393/p < 0.0001), but malocclusion was not correlated with masticatory performance (rho = 0.116/p = 0.306). In conclusion, masticatory performance and ability were not related to malocclusion, and subjects with Class I, II-1 and III malocclusions presented lower masticatory performance because of their smaller number of occlusal pairs.

Masticatory behaviour and chewing difficulties in young adults with temporomandibular disorders

“…Corroborating previous studies, the present study did not observe a significant effect of occlusion on masticatory parameters, neither an interaction between TMD and occlusion, which means that both factors are independent in the influence on mastication. The aetiological importance of occlusal changes in both masticatory behaviour and TMD development should be viewed with caution, since muscular resistance to overload may be more important than the presence of certain types of malocclusions .…”

“…The aetiological importance of occlusal changes in both masticatory behaviour and TMD development should be viewed with caution, since muscular resistance to overload may be more important than the presence of certain types of malocclusions . At the same time, major changes in the number of occlusal contacts and dental absences seems to have a great impact on masticatory performance . In this study, all subjects had all teeth and did not present major (skeletal) malocclusions, which may be the reason why no significant occlusion effect was observed on masticatory objective and subjective parameters.…”

“…Regarding to the influence of occlusal changes on mastication, if on one hand a reduction in the efficiency or masticatory performance in patients with malocclusions has been evidenced; on the other, studies have shown that masticatory performance and ability were only partially dependent or were not related to malocclusion . Using specific subjective tests that evaluate chewing with questionnaires, patients with occlusal alterations also noticed difficulties in chewing harder foods, as well as patients with malocclusions seemed to overestimate their ability to chew, reporting no difficulties .…”

Padrão da mastigação dos respiradores orais antes e depois da disjunção do maxilar superior

“…Em geral, espera-se que os pacientes respiradores orais com atresia maxilar apresentem alterações na função mastigatória, pois o enfraquecimento dos músculos mastigatórios, o ressecamento da cavidade oral, a necessidade de usar a boca para respirar, desequilíbrio na dimensão vertical e a diminuição na área de contacto oclusal 20,21 afetam a mastigação e geram adaptações.…”

Evaluation of masticatory performance and bite force in children with sleep bruxism

“…Moreover, previous studies have found that individuals with normal occlusion also produced a wider distribution of particles, which indicate better MP (30, 34), in disagreement with the present results. Thus, poorer MP in individuals with malocclusion may be partially justified by the small number and area of occlusal contacts (35, 36), but the relative differences in MP between individuals with and without malocclusions remain controversial in the literature (30, 37). Occlusal indices measuring the severity of malocclusion are objective, but may also be limited in their ability to show a relationship between MP and occlusal morphology.…”