A clinical study of the distribution of occlusal tooth contacts in the intercuspal position at light and hard pressure in adults.

Young adults (Md 24) and Adults (Md 41) were examined with respect to the distribution of occlusal contacts in molars, premolars and anterior teeth when exerting light and hard pressure respectively in the habitual intercuspal position. There was no difference between the right and left side and the number of contacts per tooth was low. In all groups of teeth there was a smaller number of contacts at light pressure. The lower number of contacts at light pressure in Adults when comparing with Young adults was related only to the anterior teeth. The increase of the number of contacts at hard pressure was greater for the anterior teeth than for the molars. In cases where there was a greater number of contacts present on one side, the distribution did not alter significantly when changing from light to hard pressure. Neither did the articulator-adjusted intercuspal position differ significantly in this respect from the clinically recorded intercuspal position at hard pressure. A further result was that about 50% of the individuals had 60% or more contacts on one side at light pressure. These findings stress the importance of meticulous care when performing occlusal adjustment, as the number of contacts per tooth is low and indicates the need for observing the difference between light and hard pressure.