Occlusal Adjustment Improves the Smoothness, Timing and Velocity of Gum Chewing

Objectives: To test the effects of immediate complete anterior guidance development (ICAGD), a computer-aided occlusal adjustment procedure, on the smoothness, timing and velocity of gum chewing within a carefully selected group of patients diagnosed with occlusal dysfunction.
Methods: The pre and post treatment gum-chewing jaw motion records of 21 TMD patients from a previous study group were randomly selected for additional analysis. The third derivative of motion (Jerk = d³x/dt³) was calculated for each subject’s pre and post treatment chewing sequences, including 15 cycles chewing gum on the left side and 15 cycles chewing gum on the right side. Mean values of jerk, velocity and cycle time were calculated from each subject's left and right data prior to treatment and separately from the comparable post treatment data (n = 42). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the pre-treatment mean jerk to the post-treatment mean jerk. The cycle times and velocities were likewise compared. Alpha = 0.05 for all.
Results: A 20% reduction in mean jerk during opening (p = 0.0002) and a 19% reduction in mean jerk during closing (p = 0.0114) were found after occlusal adjustment. The mean cycle time of the group was reduced from 925 milliseconds to 777 milliseconds (p = 0.0015). The mean velocity of chewing for the group increased from 70 mm/sec. to 86 mm/sec. in opening (p = 0.0043) and from 82 mm/sec. to 95 mm/sec. in closing (p = 0.027).
Conclusions: Within this group of carefully selected patients the effects of immediate complete anterior guidance development allowed these subjects to chew gum significantly faster and smoother.