Abstract
The daily lifestyle of growing children may influence their masticatory function and physical ability.This study investigated the relationship between dental occlusion (occlusal contact area and occlusal force), physical ability (softball throw, standing jump, 25-meter run, one-leg standing), postural stability (sway distance, sway area), and foot arch among 225 Japanese preschool children, 3 to 5years of age.The upper and lower 25% of the occlusal force measurements were compared for physical ability and postural stability. Additionally, the upper 25% of the stable and the lower 25% of the unstable postural stability measurements in each age group were compared for dental occlusion and physical ability. Children who have a well-developed foot arch and an underdeveloped foot arch were compared for dental occlusion, physical ability and postural stability.Based on the analysis, the following findings were obtained :1)Dental occlusion, postural stability and physical activities were seen to improve with age.2)A tendency for better performance in postural stability was seen among all age groups in the upper occlusal force group. In the upper occlusal force group, the softball throw measurements in the 5-year-olds were significantly larger than that of the lower occlusal group.3)A tendency for good dental occlusion was seen among all age groups with stable postural stability.The stable postural stability groups showed a significantly larger occlusal force than the unstable groups in the 3-year-olds and 5-year-olds. The stable postural stability group showed a significantly large one-leg standing time than the unstable group in the 3-year-olds.4)3-year-olds with a well-developed foot arch (54.9%) were seen to have generally good dental occlusion and postural stability. 4- and 5-year-olds with a well-developed foot arch (85.7% and 86.7% respectively) were seen to have generally good physical ability, dental occlusion, and postural stability. In 5-year-olds, postural stability's sway distance was significantly smaller in the well-developed foot arch group than in the underdeveloped group.These findings suggest that in preschool children, growth and development, dental occlusion, physical ability, postural stability and foot arch seemed to be associated with each other.
