The intra-articular distance within the TMJ during free and loaded closing movements

Previous studies on free opening and closing movements of the mandible have demonstrated that the opening movement traces of the condylar kinematic center (i.e., the condylar point for which the protrusive and the opening movement traces coincide) lie closer to the articular eminence than the closing traces. This indicates the presence of an intra-articular distance within the joint during free closing. Since the mandible behaves like a class III biomechanical lever, a counteracting mechanical load on the mandible during closing will press the condyle-disc complex against the articular eminence. Therefore, in this study the hypothesis was tested that the difference between opening and closing movement traces of the kinematic center is reduced when the closing movements are counteracted by a mechanical load. From 10 healthy participants, 20-second movement recordings were obtained by a six-degrees-of-freedom opto-electronic jaw movement recording system (OKAS-3D) for three types of movements: (1) free opening and closing movements, (2) free opening and loaded closing movements (i.e., the participants closed against a small or high manually applied downward-directed force to the chin), and (3) gum chewing. Off-line, the opening and closing movement traces of the kinematic center were reconstructed, and the average difference between the traces (the intra-articular distance) was calculated. The average intraarticular distance was significantly smaller during loaded closing than during free closing, whereas no significant differences were found in the intra-articular distances between the loaded situations of low and high manual loading and contralateral chewing (ANOVA and post hoc Bonferroni multiple comparisons of means test, p<0.005). In conclusion, loading of the mandible during closing movements reduces the intra-articular distance within the temporomandibular joint.