Correlation of the characteristics of temporomandibular joint and tooth contact sounds

In this study tooth contact sounds have been compared with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds elicited during opening and closing movements. One hundred and eight subjects were instructed to open as far as possible and then close with sufficient force to produce a tooth contact sound. At least four cycles from each subject were recorded on tape, The first and last sounds in the recording were the tooth contact sounds, these were identified automatically. The mean duration and rise time of each tooth contact sound was calculated and their standard deviations for each subject were calculated to give a measure of the reproducibility. The number and mean amplitude of TMJ sounds occurring during tooth separation were also calculated for each cycle. Highly significant correlations were found between the number and amplitude of the TMJ sounds within a cycle and the duration and rise time, and particularly their standard deviations. Acoustic quiescence during the open–close cycle was associated with short, reproducible tooth contact sounds characterized by a short rise time. The longest and most variable tooth contact sounds were associated with TMJ sounds in all three phases of the open–close cycle. This supports previous clinical findings associating occlusal interferences with TMJ dysfunction.