Department of Prosthodontics, Catholic University of Brasília (UCB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
J Oral Rehabil. 2010 May 1;37(5):322-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2842.2010.02062.x. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
Minimum interdental threshold is the smallest thickness that can be detected between teeth during an occlusion and has an influence on the occlusal force and on the control of mandibular movements. The aim of this study was to assess the possible association of the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) with the ability to detect a minimum interdental threshold. Two hundred women were equally divided into four groups: asymptomatic (control), subjects with masticatory muscle pain, with articular [temporomandibular joint (TMJ)] pain and mixed (muscular and articular pain). Evaluation of the ability to detect a minimum interdental threshold was performed using aluminium foils with 0.010, 0.024, 0.030, 0.050, 0.080 and 0.094 mm of thickness in the premolar region. A total of 20 tests with each thickness for each patient were performed, starting with the thickest foil (0.094 mm) and ending with the thinnest one. The myogenic pain and articular groups presented significantly higher threshold values (0.020 and 0.022 mm, respectively), when compared to the control. Both groups reached the level of certain perceptiveness only at 0.030 mm. No significant correlation was found between minimum interdental threshold and age. These results suggest that discrimination of thicknesses can be disturbed as a consequence of TMD manifestations and not the cause of it. Clinicians should, therefore, be aware that changes on muscles and TMJ can secondarily lead to occlusion changes. The mechanisms involved in this process, however, are not well understood and warrant further investigation.
最小牙间阈值是在咬合期间可以检测到的牙齿之间的最小厚度，它对咬合力和下颌运动的控制有影响。本研究旨在评估颞下颌关节紊乱（TMD）的症状和体征与检测最小牙间阈值的能力之间是否存在关联。200 名女性被平均分为四组：无症状（对照组）、咀嚼肌疼痛、关节[颞下颌关节（TMJ）]疼痛和混合性（肌肉和关节疼痛）。使用厚度为 0.010、0.024、0.030、0.050、0.080 和 0.094 毫米的铝箔评估检测最小牙间阈值的能力，在前磨牙区域对每位患者进行 20 次测试，每次测试的厚度均不同，从最厚的箔片（0.094 毫米）开始，以最薄的箔片结束。与对照组相比，肌源性疼痛组和关节疼痛组的阈值值显著较高（分别为 0.020 和 0.022 毫米）。两组仅在达到 0.030 毫米时才达到一定的可感知水平。最小牙间阈值与年龄之间未发现显著相关性。这些结果表明，TMD 表现可能会干扰厚度的分辨能力，而不是其原因。因此，临床医生应该意识到，肌肉和 TMJ 的变化可能会继发导致咬合变化。然而，涉及该过程的机制尚不清楚，需要进一步研究。
