​The importance of occlusal force measurement in orthognathic surgery - A pilot study

Purpose: This pilot investigation was designed to apply several, newly developed andmore sophisticated methods of measuring muscle structure and function in a situationwhere adaptation of muscle is pivotal to the success of a therapeutic approach.Materials and Methods: Patients attending the combined orthodontic/orthognathicsurgery clinic at the Clitrofa – Centro Médico, Dentário e Cirúrgico, in Trofa - Portugalwere tested according to the protocol of Bite force and occlusal contact area weresimultaneously measured with Bite Training Machine and Occlusal Force DiagnosticSystem. An Experimental design used for the measurement of occlusal force. Thestudy involved the contribution of two independent examiners that measured thebite pressure (psi) in five different FSS sensors at three different time moments. Acombination of different parametric tests has been used to compare the differentexperimental variables.Results: Neither the variation of examiner, nor the variations of time have shown toinfluence the bite pressure (psi). In contrast, the occlusal force measurement systemdeveloped has shown a high level of sensitivity due to the distribution of the fiveFSS sensors in the horseshoe-shaped form. A three-pressure region model fits theexperimental data shown in this study, comprising a low-pressure region located inthe anterior part of the dental arch, a medium-pressure region in the medial part ofthe dental arch and an high-pressure region located in the posterior part of the dentalarch.Conclusions: The piezoelectric sensors used in the present study have shown highreproducibility of measurement. Due to the recent miniaturization of FSS sensors, theauthors are developing new occlusal force measurement systems comprising a highernumber of piezoelectric sensors, with the objective of attaining even higher sensitivityof measurement throughout the different region of the dental arches.