Part 1. A study of Electronic Device For the Measuring the Tongue Pressure
It has been widely believed that the exact measurement of the forces exerted on teeth and its surrounding structures by the lingual and perioral musculatures such as lip, cheek and tongue is important and significant in dentistry.
Such measuring, moreover, is highly emphasized the importance of the fact that it
can be of much help to study the physiological function displayed in the oral
cavity.
Recognizing the importance of measuring the pressures, the author has devised an
electronic device consisting of pressure transducers utilizing resistance-strain
gauges.
This electronic strain gauge was very easy to manipulate and its scale error was
extremely minimized, unaffected by mouth temperature, moisture and external forces.
Author was able to read its results with attached meter without using calibration
chart.
Futhermore, the sensitivity of this electronic device was extremely high. Thus,
it facilitated to measure a force from 0 to 230 grams.
A Study of the Tongue Pressure on Upper Anterior Teeth During Tongue Movement
Part 2. A Study of the Tongue Pressure on Upper Anterior Teeth in Accordance with
Tooth Position During Tongue Movement
Ki Hwan Kim, D.D.S.
Department of Dental Science, The Graduate School, Yonsei University
(Directed by Assis. Prof. Ho Young Lee, D.D.S., M.S.D. and Ph.D.)
Pressures associated with mastication, swallowing and speaking are being exerted
continually on the plate and dentition by the lingual and perioral musculature.
It would be a reasonable assumption that an imbalance of dental environmental
muscle forces bears some clinical implication.
Therefore a through understanding of all the perioral and lingual forces is of
importance to the dentistry.
The purpose of this study was to outline a procedure for measuring the forces
exerted on the upper anterior teeth by the tongue and to determine the forces
during tongue movements.
The subjects used in this study were 5 male patients with normal occlusion who
came to Department of Prosthodontics, Infirmary of Dental College, Yonsei
University.
The Electronic Strain Gauge Meter devised by the author was used to measure the
tongue pressure on upper anterior teeth in accordance with tooth position during
tongue movements.
The following results were obtained:
1. In normal teeth arrangement, the mean pressures exerted by the tongue on the
upper anterior teeth during mastication, swallowing and speech were 2.38 (1.7-2.9),
11.52(5.0-31.8) and 2.26(1.1-3.0) Gm. Per ¼ square centimeter.
2. As teeth arranged in 3 mm, labially from the normal, the mean pressures
against the upper anterior teeth during mastication, swallowing and speech were
1.54(11.4-1.9), 8.86(3.9-25.4) and 1.04 (0.0-1.9) Gm. per 1/4 square centimeter.
3. In general, a significant difference was found between normal teeth
arrangement and 3 mm, labially from the normal, tongue pressures during
mastication, swallowing and speech were decreased 35.3%, 26.7% and 54.0%,