Motor learning might contribute to a therapeutic anterior shift of the habitual mandibular position-An exploratory study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Passive mandibular advancement with functional appliances is commonly used to treat juvenile patients with mandibular retrognathism.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to investigate whether active repetitive training of the mandible into an anterior position would result in a shift of the habitual mandibular position (HMP).

METHODS:

Twenty adult healthy subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a training group receiving six supervised functional training sessions of 10 min each and a control group without training. Bonded lateral biteplates disengaged occlusion among both groups throughout the 15-day experiment. Customised registration-training appliances consisted of a maxillary component with an anterior plane and a mandibular component with an attached metal sphere. Training sessions consisted of repeated mouth-opening/closing cycles (frequency: 30/min) to hit an anteriorly positioned hemispherical target notch with this metal sphere. The HMP was registered at defined times during the experiment.

RESULTS:

The HMP in the training group showed a statistically significant anterior shift of 1.6 mm (interquartile range [IQR]: 1.2 mm), compared with a significant posterior shift of -0.8 mm (IQR: 2.8 mm) in the control group (p < .05). Although the anterior shift among the training group showed a partial relapse 4 days after the first training block, it then advanced slightly in the 4-day interval after the second training block, which might indicate neuroplasticity of the masticatory motor system.

CONCLUSIONS:

Motor learning by repetitive training of the mandible into an anterior position might help to improve the results of functional appliance therapy among patients with mandibular retrognathism.

• Authors: Julia C Glöggler, Daniel Hellmann, Maja Von Manstein, Rudolph Jäger, Stefan Repky, Jan Beyersmann, Bernd G Lapatki
• Journal: Journal of oral rehabilitation (J Oral Rehabil) Vol. 48 Issue 8 Pg. 891-900 (Aug 2021) ISSN: 1365-2842 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33983634 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
• Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Topics

• Adult
• Cephalometry
• Dental Occlusion
• Humans
• Malocclusion
• Mandible
• Mandibular Advancement