Measurement of jerk-cost using a triaxial piezoelectric accelerometer for the evaluation of jaw movement smoothness

Jerk-cost as a measure of jaw movement smoothness has been used to evaluate the masticatory function of patients with tooth loss and malocclusion. Jerk-cost measuring systems have thus far been unable to determine the jerk-cost of each chewing phase over time. The purposes of this study were (i) to develop a new method for measuring momentary jerk-cost of the jaw movement using a small triaxial piezoelectric accelerometer and (ii) to test the hypothesis that the lowest smoothness is seen during jaw-opening phase. The accelerometer was attached to the skin of the mentum of each subject. Vertical jaw displacement, acceleration, the jerk, and the time differential of jerk-cost during gum chewing were analysed as a function of time in five normal dentate subjects (n = 5). The system revealed intra-class correlation coefficients of intra-examiner, inter-examiner, and test-retest consistency of substantially high values (0.80-0.88). In all subjects, the highest jerk-cost was observed in the opening phase of each chewing cycle when the gum was parting from the teeth; the lowest jerk-cost was observed in the intercuspal phase throughout the chewing cycle, thus confirming the hypothesis. Significant differences were observed between the opening, closing, and intercuspal chewing phases (N = 5, P = 0.007). The smoothness measurement system used in this study evaluated the momentary smoothness of each chewing phase in the masticatory cycle. The system may serve as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the smoothness of the jaw movement in general dental practice.