咀嚼運動の機能的分析

下顎切歯点の運動経路のパターンと運動の安定性との関係

抄録

The purpose of this experiment was to clarify the relation between masticatory path pattern and function, specifically the stability of movement, and to find the path pattern that is the most functionally effective. One hundred healthy subjects were asked to chew chewing gum on one side, and the fifth to the fourteen cycles were classified into eight patterns according to the method developed by Akiyama et al. Stability in terms of masticatory path and rhythm were quantitatively compared between the chewing patterns. As a result, it was found that there was an intimate relation between masticatory path pattern and stability and that the pattern which opened smoothly from the centric occlusion toward the working side and then closed toward the centric occlusion but showed a convex closing path in the vicinity of the centric occlusion was the most functionally effective. Furthermore, it was concluded that it was relatively easy to objectively evaluate masticatory function by merely observing the masticatory path pattern.