[Occlusal contacts of complete denture during mastication in telemetry system]

The purpose of this study was to develop a telemetry system and to analyze the occlusal contacts of complete denture during mastication. The telemetry system consisted of a transmitter unit and a receiver unit. The transmitter allowed 6 channels of information of the occlusal contacts to be telemetered by time division multiplex communication method within the approximate distance of 2 m. The occlusal surface of the upper complete denture was made of metal and that of the lower denture was made of metal contact plates of 0.5 mm in width with each space of 0.5 mm. Then the transmitter was embedded in the lower complete denture. Occlusal contacts of 66 aged edentulous male were investigated both on the chewing side and on the nonchewing side in the premolar, the 1st molar and the 2nd molar regions. The results were as followed: 1. The occlusal contacts in the nonchewing side preceded those in the chewing side, with higher frequency and longer duration. 2. In the nonchewing side, the occlusal contact occurred at different time; the occlusal contact was observed first in the 2nd molar, then 32-48 ms later in the 1st molar, and 2-48 ms later in the premolar regions. 3. It is suggested that the balancing contact should be considered for stabilizing the denture in mastication.