| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this work was to study the function of the jaws during chewing. While there is a substantial body of information already available on the subject there were some identifiable gaps, particularly in the interpretation of data derived from two measuring devices commonly used to study jaw function, the electrognathograph (EGN) and the electromyograph (EMG). There was little support for either of these
devices as diagnostic tools. One of the reasons for this may have been that the lack of normal data and the limitations of existing data, which had in general, been derived from observations of parts of a whole, made in isolation. The normal associations and interactions between jaw movement, occlusal contact area, muscle activity, acceleration, and chewing performance had therefore been difficult to make. In this work, it has been possible to study all these factors in the same subjects. In one respect, however, there was an important inconsistency, namely between the test food used to measure chewing performance and the test food used to record jaw movement and muscle activity. It is a challenge to future work of this sort to find a test food, equally suitable for both purposes. The work has nevertheless allowed some
associations between chewing performance and jaw activity to be made. The use of EGN and EMG data has not been validated for diagnostic purposes in this work but methods of analysis have been developed which have been shown to be good descriptors of function and good predictors of performance. Further work lies ahead in using these methods to study patients with dysfunction caused by malocclusion or
muscle pain. | en_US |
