[Study on occlusal sounds in children. 2. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis on the occlusal sounds]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Fast Fourie Transform (FFT) analysis of the occlusal sounds generated by tooth tapping which may apply in assisting in the functional diagnosis of occlusion in children. The fifteen subjects examined were divided into three groups: the first group with deciduous dentition, the second with mixed dentition and the third with permanent dentition. Occlusal sounds generated by tooth tapping at the rate of 76 times per minute were obtained with a micro-electronic condenser microphone placed on the infra-orbital region. For the time wave, the wave pattern of the occlusal sound was classified into two groups: 1) Impact sound, 2) Slide sound, and the ratio of appearance was examined. For the spectrum, three parameters were chosen for the measuring points such as 1) frequency range, 2) peak frequency, 3) strength of the peak frequency. The results obtained in the present study were summarized as follows: 1) Occlusal sounds in the deciduous dentition, the appearance of sliding sound was noticed in over 50% of the cases while on the permanent dentition, the sliding sound was dominant. 2) The power spectrum of the occlusal sound showed generally two or three peaks. 3) The range of frequency was recognized to be extended on the sliding sound when compared with the impact sound.