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The Acoustical Characteristics of the Normal Temporomandibular Joint

Department of Biostructure and Function, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06032

C.N. Bertolami

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02114

Both clinical and empirical evidence suggests that the "normal" temporomandibular joint produces noise during function. The purpose of this study was to determine the conditions under which these noises might arise. Joint sounds and mandibular movements were recorded simultaneously from 200 adults who had no previous history or present symptoms of TMJ pain or dysfunction. The joint sounds were recorded bilaterally by means of two separate miniature vibration transducers mounted on a common headband, and incisal point mandibular movements were measured by a magnetometer tracking system. Recordings were made while each subject opened and closed the mouth, first in a natural and comfortable manner, and then to maximum displacement. Two types of measurements were made: the appearance, onset, and duration of joint-propagated sounds in relation to relative mandibular position; and the spectral properties of the detected sounds. The results of this study showed that for natural opening and closing movements of the mandible, the "normal" TMJ was silent for all age groups. However, for the maximum displacement condition, detectable sounds appeared at the points of maximum displacement in both the opening and closing phases of the cycle in over 80 percent of the subjects. However, these sounds were, as a class, substantially longer than, and spectrally distinct from, abnormal joint sounds, suggesting that they arise from a distinct physical substrate.

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Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 67, No. 1, 56-60 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/00220345880670011101


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This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gay, T. Articles by Bertolami, C.N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gay, T. Articles by Bertolami, C.N. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?