title: Determination of tangential and normal components of oral forces.
abstract: Oral forces applied to human teeth during biting and mastication are normally described in the literature only in terms of their axial components. The purpose of this study was to fully determine the spatial characteristics of the oral resultant force - its normal and tangential components - for a given individual. A load cell was especially manufactured to measure oral force and was temporarily implanted as a prosthetic device in the dental arch of a volunteer, replacing his missing upper first molar. The mastication and occlusion tests were carried out in such a way the cell should withstand the loads applied to the molar, and its state of strain was recorded by strain gauges attached to it. Based on the results of these tests and using balance equations, normal and tangential components of the resultant oral force were determined. For direct occlusion, without interposition any obstacle between cusps, a peak normal force of 135 N was recorded simultaneously to a tangential force of 44 N. For mastication of biscuits, a peak normal force of 133 N and a tangential force of 39 N were obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Estevam Barbosa
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: de Las Casas
authors.forename: André França
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.forename: Carlos Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Cimini Junior
authors.forename: Paulo de Tarso Vida
authors.initials: Pde T
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Tulimar Pereira Machado
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Cornacchia
authors.forename: Jorge Milton Elian
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Saffar