Comprehensive assessment of the effects of local anesthesia on maximum biting force generation

ABSTRACT

Presented is an analysis of main mechanical aspects involved in the biting process with emphasis on the role of neural mechanism governing the force upper bounds of loaded elements. The analysis is then implemented to outline the experimental and operational conditions which if verified, local anesthesia [LA] of periodontium results in significant change in maximum biting force [MBF] that jaw muscles can develop. Force measurements are carried out using a transducer which enables recording of the resultant of the two independently applied forces [two-sided clench] from both sides of the jaw. In addition, the transducer permits force measurements, while mandible is open at a certain selected spacing. Measurements are performed on 20 subjects with and without LA. The study comes up with two main findings. First on a single jaw configuration a slight change in MBF is likely to prevail since "LA" has just the limited effect of blocking only one of three neural pathways involved in and controlling the biting process. Second, various jaw spacing [initial presetting] and their corresponding muscle configurations are capable of developing large forces when LA is administered