2020 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 39-48
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between oral function and morphology using measured values of lip closing force and tongue pressure in early adulthood and three-dimensional scan data of a dentition model, and to assess the evaluation method.
The subjects comprised 102 adults (62 males, 26.2±3.3 years old; 40 females, 24.4±3.6 years old) with healthy dentition, all of whom gave informed written consent. Lip closing force and tongue pressure were measured, and upper and lower jaw dentition models were obtained. Three-dimensional morphometric measurements of the models were performed, and correlations among lip closing force and tongue pressure and the measured values of each model based on the obtained 3-D data were determined, along with any gender difference between the measured values, and the measured values of the model.
There was a positive correlation between lip closing force and tongue pressure, and in men, there was a significant correlation between tongue pressure and distance between the bimaxillary first molar cusps and the distance between the palatal teeth and neck.
All of tongue pressure, lip closing force, maxillary first premolar palatal distance, second molar interdental distance, first molar interdental distance, palatal depth, palatal volume, and palatal surface area differed significantly by subject gender.
The 3-D data of the dentition model enabled detailed measurements including palatal volume in early adulthood when growth was completed and dentition occlusion was stable. In the future, we plan to continue research in young people.
