The roles of wedging and friction in the mechanics of dental occlusal contacts

Abstract

Objective: The primary aim of this project is to elucidate the basic mechanical engineering principles that govern and explain unexpected and counter-intuitive occlusal contact force measurements. Methods: Forces were measured on matched pairs of first molar denture, ceramic and stainless steel crowns during occlusion and disclusion, with human saliva and dry (control). The weighted maxillary assembly, guided by a precision slide, was lowered onto, and raised from, the mandibular crown. The forces experienced by the mandibular tooth were continuously measured by the load cell that supported it. Statistical analyses included LOESS smoothing splines and generalized additive models. Principles of basic statics and classic friction were applied to explain and validate the results. Results: It was determined that within the span of a single chomp, the in-occlusal plane force component (Flateral) on the tooth is highly variable in direction and/or magnitude. The most salient observations were that Flateral was higher in disclusion than in occlusion, and the largest Flateral did not necessarily occur when the bite force was maximum. Furthermore, saliva significantly affected the results. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that contacting teeth experience complex transient mechanical environments that can be readily explained with elementary engineering principles involving wedging and friction at the occlusal contacts.