頭蓋顔面形態が咬合力および咀嚼筋の筋活動に及ぼす影響について．VIII-1.総義歯装着者の咬合力

The influence of craniofacial form on bite force and EMG activity of masticatory muscles. VIII-1. Bite force of complete denture wearers.

抄録

現在、日本では高齢化社会が進行しています。日本人の平均寿命は約80歳である。その結果，高齢者の咀嚼機能保持はQOLの観点からますます重要となってきている．今後、加齢により失われる歯の代用として、義歯による咀嚼機能の促進がより重要な意味を持つようになると考えられる。そのため，無歯顎の総義歯を適切に評価・判断することが重要である．本研究は，総義歯装着者の頭蓋顔面形態が顎機能の活動様式に及ぼす影響を明らかにすることを目的とした．まず，上下顎の総義歯を装着した被験者に垂直方向のクレンチングを指示し，咬合力方向を測定した．そして、これらのデータを被験者の頭蓋顔面形態と関連づけた。以上の結果から，総義歯装着者の咬合力方向は性差の影響を受けず，側頭顔面形態と密接に関連し，総義歯作製において咬合平面および咬頭上下寸法の適切な設定が極めて重要であることが示唆された．

Today, Japan as a society is aging. The average life expectancy of Japanese people is approximately 80 years. One result of this is that preservation of masticatory functions in elderly people has become increasingly important from the viewpoint of quality of life. In the future, the use of dentures in facilitating masticatory functions as a substitute for teeth that are lost during the aging process will assume greater significance. Accordingly, appropriate evaluation and judgment of complete dentures for edentate jaws is crucial. This study was designed to elucidate the effects of the craniofacial form in complete denture wearers on the mode of activity of gnathic functions. First, subjects wearing complete dentures in both the upper and lower jaws were instructed to carry out vertical clenching, and bite force direction was determined. These data were then related to the subject's craniofacial morphology. These results suggest that the bite force direction in complete denture wearers is not affected by gender differences, but is closely associated with lateral craniofacial morphology, and that appropriate setting of occlusal plane and the occluded vertical dimension is extremely important in the preparation of complete dentures.