Journal
CLINICAL ORAL INVESTIGATIONS
Volume 14, Issue 6, Pages 683-690Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00784-009-0348-3
Keywords
Active tactile sensibility; Interdental perception; Psychometric function; Support area; Gradient of the sensibility curve; Occlusal interferences
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The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine the active tactile sensibility of natural teeth and to obtain a statistical analysis method fitting a psychometric function through the observed data points. On 68 complete dentulous test persons (34 males, 34 females, mean age 45.9 +/- 16.1 years), one pair of healthy natural teeth each was tested: n = 24 anterior teeth and n = 44 posterior teeth. The computer-assisted, randomized measurement was done by having the subjects bite on thin copper foils of different thickness (5-200 A mu m) inserted between the teeth. The threshold of active tactile sensibility was defined by the 50% value of correct answers. Additionally, the gradient of the sensibility curve and the support area (90-10% value) as a description of the shape of the sensibility curve were calculated. For modeling the sensibility curve, symmetric and asymmetric functions were used. The mean sensibility threshold was 14.2 A +/- 12.1 A mu m. The older the subject, the higher the tactile threshold (r = 0.42, p = 0.0006). The support area was 41.8 A +/- 43.3 A mu m. The higher the 50% threshold, the smaller the gradient of the curve and the larger the support area. The curves showing the active tactile sensibility of natural teeth demonstrate a tendency towards asymmetry, so that the active tactile sensibility of natural teeth can mathematically best be described by using the asymmetric Weibull function.
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