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The Vulnerability of the Temporomandibular Joint in Recent Northern China Populations
Author(s) -
Wang Qian,
Zhang Qun,
Han Tao,
Sun Zhichao,
Kesterke Matthew J.,
Zhu Hong,
Dechow Paul C.,
Zhang Quanchao
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.514.3
Subject(s) - temporomandibular joint , biting , condyle , vulnerability (computing) , medicine , dentistry , dental arch , arch , masticatory force , orthodontics , geography , biology , archaeology , ecology , computer security , computer science
During recent human evolution, the shortening of the facial skeleton and the gracilization of the skull has been related to the high prevalence of dental anomalies, such as dental crowding. However, little attention has is given to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders from an evolutionary perspective, and the evaluation of TMJ in archaeological populations remains scarce. In this study, TMJ vulnerability in recent Northern Chinese human populations, dated to between 3800 B.C. and A.D. 100, is assessed using a model based on the “triangle of support” hypothesis. The results demonstrate that TMJ vulnerability negatively correlates with maxillary dental arch size and biting efficiency, suggesting that populations or individuals with a smaller dental arch and high biting efficiency could more easily injure the TMJ during unilateral loadings, which may explain the higher prevalence of TMJ disorders in modern humans, especially in women. The males in the pastoral group had broader and more orthognathic faces, shorter maxillary dental arch lengths, wider maxillary dental arches, yet overall smaller maxillary dental arch sizes, larger TMJ sizes, larger distances between condylar and coronoid processes, and higher indices of TMJ vulnerability than males in the agricultural group, indicating different adaptation strategies used in different life styles. These findings indicate either coupled consequences of recent human evolution or an inadvertent tradeoff between biting efficiency and TMJ vulnerability, and reflect the impact of diachronic changes of the masticatory apparatus and life style and their impact on oral health during recent human history. Support or Funding Information Jilin University Foreign Experts Project Foreign Scholar Award This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .