Bite force on single as opposed to all maxillary front teeth.

The relation of number of teeth to maximal clenching force was tested in 10 healthy female dental students. The maximal force in the interincisal position was tested by spreading the load with individual acrylic splints over a varying number of teeth in the anterior region. In the maxilla, one splint covered teeth 13-23; another covered tooth 11. In the mandible, one splint covered teeth 33-43 in all experiments. The maximal force in the incisal position was measured 10 times, five times with each splint. The maxillary splints were changed in random order. The tactile sensibility of tooth 11 and its antagonists was tested before and immediately after interincisal force measurements. A highly significant difference between maximal forces was seen in comparing biting between a single tooth and multiple teeth. In addition, bite force also showed a significant increase in both single tooth and multiple teeth successive biting trials during the experiments. Tactile sensibility between d 11 and its antagonist was not altered by the maximal bite force trials.