A study of the temporomandibular joint during bruxism

Abstract

Extreme overload stress on cartilage during clenching can lead to significant damage to the jaw joint, researchers in Spain report. Around 85% of people suffer from awake or sleep bruxism —clenching / grinding of the jaw — at some point in their lives. Bruxism can lead to chronic pain and in extreme cases may do irreparable damage to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Maria Commisso and colleagues at the University of Seville built a finite element computer model of the TMJ and human mandible to examine the effect of abnormal loading stresses on the TMJ articular disc. The researchers modelled the behavior of the disc under sustained and cyclic loading, as found in awake and sleep bruxism, respectively. They found that sustained clenching in awake bruxism is the most damaging to disc cartilage.

Keywords

bruxism / finite element simulation / temporomandibular disorder / temporomandibular joint

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