THE INFLUENCE OF OCCLUSAL SCHEME ON MASTICATORY FORCES USING IMPLANT STABILIZED BRIDGES

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects on masticat ory forces of using implant stabilized mandibular bridges with occlusa l schemes providing either balanced or unbalanced articulation. The in vestigation was carried out in a group of six subjects who had dentate , or restored dentate maxillary arches and who used implant-stabilized mandibular prostheses. Peak masticatory forces, chewing frequency and load rate were determined when chewing bread, carrots and nuts. The m ean peak masticatory force varied markedly from subject to subject, an d, together with the masticatory load rate were lowest when eating bre ad and highest when chewing nuts, with values for chewing carrots betw een the two. There was no detectable difference in mean peak masticato ry force or load rates associated with chewing bread with the two occl usal schemes; however, these were lower with balanced occlusion when c hewing nuts and carrots. The ranking of subjects in terms of mean peak masticatory force and load rate was consistent and peak load rates of up to 2000 N/sec were recorded. Chewing frequency was relatively cons istent for a particular subject irrespective of the foodstuff.