Occlusion and TMJ
introduction of occlusion and TMJ
At an anatomical level, the stomatognathic system is made up of three fundamental pillars that have to work in a coordinated manner in order to carry out their function as effectively and efficiently as possible. These three pillars must be synchronised and they are the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), the masticatory musculature and the teeth. Only when the rehabilitating dentist or prosthodontist is able to control, manage and coordinate these three factors can he or she truly rehabilitate the patient aesthetically and functionally. The lack of coordination between these three factors can generate muscular and/or postural alterations with repercussions in different parts of the body. As human beings, we are capable of adapting to certain misalignments and mismatches that produce physical, psychological and mechanical stress, but all adaptive changes have a cost. Sometimes this cost is easily assimilated by the patient and with hardly any functional alterations, but on other occasions, the sum of small adaptations can cause significant functional alterations with repercussions in different areas of the masticatory system.
What is occlusion?
When we talk about occlusion, it seems that we are referring to an abstract, complex and exclusive concept. In reality, however, there are as many occlusions as there are patients, since occlusion is the way in which the teeth come into contact with each other. The important thing is to identify the different types of occlusion patterns that appear and to know when and how to act. In our clinic we are specialists in knowing how to differentiate between physiological and pathological occlusion. In addition, when rehabilitating our cases, whether on implants or on teeth, we use what is known as optimal functional occlusion, which has the following characteristics:
- Regularly distributed dental contacts between all teeth.
- Occlusal forces distributed among all the teeth and directed axially on the teeth to support the occlusal loads and thus avoid tooth displacement.
- Maximum tooth intercuspidation in a stable condylar position.
- Muscular efficiency, so that the musculature performs its function with the minimum energy expenditure.
- Absence of interferences, in other words, no tooth contact during jaw movements except at the final moment of closure when all the teeth come into contact at the same time in a stable condylar position.
- Existence of an anterior guide that provides disocclusion in posterior sectors and lateral guides in canines that free the rest of the teeth from contact.
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