1.

MASTICATORY MOVEMENTS

Understanding of jaw movement patterns has been of great interest and one
of the goals of restoring occlusal form is to insure that tooth contact is
integrated with jaw movement patterns such as describing the path taken by the
mandible during chewing as well as to define the position of the mandible at
rest. Normal movements always involve both a simultaneous hinge and a
sliding movement of the condyles. When the mandible is moved laterally, the
condyle moves laterally but also moves posteriorly. However, the condyle on
the opposite side is moving mesially and anteriorly. If the jaw is opened at the
same time, both condyles move downward. Movement in the frontal plane is
viewed wherein there is considerable variability in the pattern and timing of the
masticatory cycle. Differences in one individual’s chewing cycles must be the
result of intraoral conditions. If the consistency of the food is changed,
masticatory stroke is also changed. On the other hand, movements of the
mandible in the sagittal plane have less of an individual pattern because they do
not differ to any degree between individuals and types of food being chewed.
Centric occlusion and centric relation are 2 important border positions of the
mandible that is useful in transferring jaw positions from the subject to an
articulator. Meanwhile, a muscle twitch results following a brief stimulation of
the muscle nerve. Then, twitch tension is measured and is found out to be
maximal and has 2 components which are the passive and active. The muscle of
mastication contains large and small extrafusal fibers. For these muscles to be
effective, the hyoid bone must be stabilized to the base of the skull. The
buccinator and orbicularis oris muscles are also important since they are
responsible in keeping the food in the occlusal area and also bolus formation.
Using a three component force transducer, it is possible to measure orofacial,
anterior, posterior and axial forces on a tooth during chewing. Closing
movements during chewing produce a maximal intercuspal contact and the
number of contacts varies according to type of food and increases during a
chewing sequence. The 3 stages of tooth contact are the first on molars, in all
areas and on the incisors alone. Chewing efficiency varies widely among
individuals with the same number of teeth but even though minimal chewing is
required for digestion yet more thorough mastication can assist digestion.

In analyzing the movements of mastication, I think it is necessary to find out

on how it works and how every part and other forms of muscles are working in
order to make sure the proper chewing, swallowing, and digestion of the food
that is being intake. By understanding the concept of mastication, it really helps
in finding out the various patterns and movements inside and how it affects the
certain conditions of the several parts of our teeth inside the mouth. It also
widens my insights and perceptions towards the concept of mastication and how
certain bones and muscles which are connected to each other can produce good
or bad results that will eventually affect the digestion of a certain individual.
 2. CONTROL OF MASTICATION

Masticatory movements are cyclic, coordinated and has variability in the

chewing stroke that depends on intraoral conditions. In order to produce
contraction and relaxation, there is a mechanism controlling mastication,
integrating inputs from a number of various areas, and activation of appropriate
muscles at the correct time in the central nervous system. Mastication is
coordinated by neurons of the trigeminal sensorimotor complex in the brain stem.
Sensory inputs and motor outputs must be correctly interconnected so that
mastication will be coordinated wherein the hypoglossal nucleus controls tongue
musculature while the facial motor nucleus controls muscles of the cheeks and
around the mouth. Divisions of the brain stem trigeminal system includes sensory
nucleus that is subdivided into 3 main nuclear masses which are the spinal,
principal sensory nucleus and mesenphalic nucleus while the motor nucleus is
consist of large cells that give rise to the efferent motor fibers of the trigeminal
nerve. One set of fibers ascends to terminate in the principal sensory nucleus while
the second set descends which terminates in the spinal nucleus which has 3 main
parts and those are nucleus oralis, interpolaris, and caudalis. Sensory functions of
the face, oral, and nasal cavities are represented in the trigeminal sensory nuclei.
Motor nuclei concerned with masticatory activity include facial motor nucleus and
hypoglossal nucleus. The reflex activity in orofacial musculature wherein a number
of reflexes can be elicited from the orofacial area which includes tongue, facial and
various jaw reflexes. Meanwhile, the jaw-closing or jaw-jerk reflex can be elicited
by tapping the chin. It is also possible to initiate the jaw-closing reflex by tapping a
tooth. Anesthesia applied to the tooth or lower jaw reduces the amplitude however
jaw reflexes are used to be though as fragments of cyclic chewing movements.
Orofacial reflexes are protective reflexes comprising of horizontal jaw reflexes,
jaw unloading reflex and eye-blink reflex. Mastication is both a voluntary and
involuntary activity. Many peripheral stimuli can initiate mastication and can be
initiated without any food in the mouth. Masticatory movements can be initiated by
stimulating the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, hypothalamus, cerebellum and areas
in the brain stem. On the other hand, disturbance of mastication can result from a
local cause such as toothache which results in deviation of the mandible to avoid
the tooth. Diseases like bruxism, tetanus, and encephalitis that affect the muscles of
mastication can produce chewing disorder.

This control of mastication proves that there are lots of muscles that are
involved when it comes to crushing and grinding the food that we eat. Based on the
summary, I think it is necessary to understand the movement of the jaw and tongue
that is regulated by the brain stem in order to analyze and conceptualize on how the
muscles, nerves and other parts or areas are working together in the process of
mastication and how it affects the certain parts of our teeth. It is somehow complex
and provides several interconnections among different parts and areas but it
supplies information that can help in expanding the knowledge based on the
processes that is being discussed. Furthermore, it can also give an idea of what can
be the effect of it to the other parts of a certain area in our mouth and teeth that
may produce either good or bad results.