Abstract
The purpose of this study was to establish a method of detection of premature contact under pathologic conditions. We hypothesiced that mobile teeth affected by periodontitis would lead to tooth extrusion and tooth migration, and ultimately cause premature contact during occlusion. This study used pressuresensitive sheets (Dental Prescale®) to measure occlusal force and occlusal area before and after mobile molars were fixed in the intercuspal relationship. The occlusal loading ratio and occlusal area ratio were also estimated in order to determine the relationship between the difference produced by fixation and the mobility of the tooth. Degree of mobility was evaluated by a modifieation of the Miller index as no/low mobility (M 0 and M 1) and high mobility (M 2 and M 3).
The results showed were as follows:
1. The occlusal force of the high mobility tooth group increased significantly after fixation compared to the no/low mobilility tooth group (p<0. 05).
2. The occlusal area of the high mobility tooth group showed a tendency to increase after fixation compared to the no/low mobility tooth group.
3. The occlusal loading ratio of the high mobilility toothgroup increased significantly after fixation compared to the no/low mobilility tooth group (p<0. 05).
4. The occlusal area ratio of the high mobility tooth groilp increased significantly after fixation eompared to the no/low mobility tooth group (p <0. 05).
These results suggested that the fixation of periodontally mobile teeth may improve the diagnosis of traumatic occlusion caused by premature contact of tooth extrusion or tooth migration. J Jpn Soc Periodontol, 45: 171-179, 2003.
