The Bulletín of Kanagawa Dental College

Vol. 36 No. 2       September- 2008

ISSN: 0385-1443      UBIC: 65

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to investigate occlusion patterns, especially those occurring during bruxism, and their influence on dental conditions in a healthy population. Between January and December 2004, a total of 1,347 subjects were subjected to a clinical examination. These consisted of 1,179 males and 168 females, their mean age was 42.1 years, and all were employees at a company in Tokyo, Japan. The dentists evaluated the subjects' occlusal and periodontal conditions using occlusion patterns and the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). The occlusal contact pattern during sleep bruxism was examined using a BruxChecker, a simple device for examining sleep bruxism. A questionnaire was drawn up to assess the occlusion and dental problems. The occlusion patterns that appeared in clinical examination differed from the patterns revealed with the BruxChecker during bruxism. The occlusion patterns during bruxism can be categorized into four groups: bilateral canine guidance; bilateral group function; bilateral canine guidance with mediotrusive grinding and bilateral group function with mediotrusive grinding, as evaluated by the BruxChecker. Individual occlusion patterns are established at an early age and maintained during aging. This study discovered an incidence of approximately 20% canine guidance and 75% of group function in the healthy population. The community periodontal index and occlusion patterns indicate that the CPITN, Codes 3 and 4, in the bilateral group function and group function with mediotrusive grinding groups were more severe than those of the bilateral canine guidance and canine guidance with mediotrusive grinding groups. This study showed that the evaluation of tooth contact with a BruxChecker is a simple and useful method for surveying occlusion and dental problems. Key words: Bruxism / Occlusion pattern / DMFT / CPITN / Occlusion.

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