The Influence of Occlusal Contact Area and Occlusal Force on Grip

Abstract

Although various studies have appeared about the relationship between clenching and body function, there are no reports that evaluate the relationships between a difference in occlusal contact area and an increase or decrease in force on grip. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between occlusal condition and muscular strength by comparing data for grip measurement and occlusal contact area and occlusal force for 20 subjects among Kyushu Dental College students. The results were as follows. Grip with clenching increased more significantly than grip with mouth opening. There was a tendency for occlusal contact area on the grip side to be larger than occlusal contact area on the non‒grip side. There was also a tendency for occlusal force on the grip side to increase more than occlusal force on the non‒grip side. In addition, the values for occlusal contact area and occlusal force among male subjects increased more significantly than values among female subjects. Furthermore, grip increased more when occlusal contact area was larger and occlusal force was increased.