Biomechanical model of the human mandible in unilateral clench: distribution of temporomandibular joint reaction forces between working and balancing sides.

In a previous article we reported on our development of a biomechanical analog of the human mandible and a simple support model was introduced. The model has been further developed to calculate the relative degree of load on the working and balancing sides of the temporomandibular joint during unilateral clench. The relative load on each joint is a function of the biting force, the geometric setting (subject's anatomy, points of application of the biting force on the dental arch and of the resultant of the forces of the masticatory muscles), and the value of the electromyographic asymmetry (relative contribution of working-versus balancing-side muscles) and activity indexes (relative contribution of masseter versus anterior temporal muscle of both sides). The proposed biomechanical model showed that the reaction forces that act on the temporomandibular joint during unilateral clench do not always load the balancing-side joint more than the working-side joint. Modifications of the asymmetry index changed the relative load between the two joints, and a higher temporal muscle activity increased the joint load on both the working and the balancing sides.