Version 1
: Received: 20 December 2023 / Approved: 21 December 2023 / Online: 21 December 2023 (09:25:47 CET)
How to cite:
Vaahtoniemi, L. The Neurophysiology of Jaw-Closing Kinematics – a Mandible-Meets-Maxilla Narrative. Preprints2023, 2023121590. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1590.v1
Vaahtoniemi, L. The Neurophysiology of Jaw-Closing Kinematics – a Mandible-Meets-Maxilla Narrative. Preprints 2023, 2023121590. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1590.v1
Vaahtoniemi, L. The Neurophysiology of Jaw-Closing Kinematics – a Mandible-Meets-Maxilla Narrative. Preprints2023, 2023121590. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1590.v1
APA Style
Vaahtoniemi, L. (2023). The Neurophysiology of Jaw-Closing Kinematics – a Mandible-Meets-Maxilla Narrative. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1590.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Vaahtoniemi, L. 2023 "The Neurophysiology of Jaw-Closing Kinematics – a Mandible-Meets-Maxilla Narrative" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1590.v1
Abstract
A stable match, an intercuspated maxilla-mandible relation is the universally accepted goal for dental restorative interventions, yet the underlying sensorimotor mechanisms to achieve this goal in the natural jaw closure remains to be elucidated. Dentists have intuitively regarded peripheral sensory innervation from tooth contacts as a significant control element for jaw muscle actions, both in the state of health and in cases of pathological dysfunction. However, therapeutical interventions for reshaping the dental arch anatomy and jaw relations have not always been successful. Repetitive masticatory chewing cycles, swallowing, talking, as well as volitional jaw-opening and -closing involve stereotyped neural commands from the central nervous system that are modulated in reaction to the sensory afferent feedback from the peripheral neurons and their sensor organs. The aim of this article is to describe, on a fraction of a second time-scale, the minuscule tilts and kinematic events of mandible during the making of a stable match with maxilla. Evidence of the importance of tooth contacts as the sensorimotor motivation of each of the successive kinematic steps of the “mandible-meets-maxilla-narrative” are discussed.
Keywords
bite force; maximum intercuspal position; jaw-relation; trigeminal nerve; unilateral food-crushing reflex; mastication; swallowing; tooth-contact, tongue muscles; central pattern generator
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Behavioral Sciences
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
