Journal of Dental Research, Vol 67, 903-910, Copyright © 1988 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
A theoretical model of loading and eminence development of the postnatal human temporomandibular joint
J. C. Nickel, K. R. McLachlan and D. M. Smith
Department of Preventive Dental Science, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
The objectives of the present study were to characterize the loading of the
immature TMJ, and to develop a theoretical model to explain the
relationship between joint loading and development of the eminence of the
human TMJ. The osteological remains of forty individuals, ages ranging from
birth to twenty years, were used to provide metric coordinates of the
three-dimensional relationships of the anatomy of the biting apparatus. The
data were used, in a numerical model of TMJ loading (Smith et al., 1986),
to calculate the magnitudes and directions of condylar loading. The
following conclusions were drawn: (i) static equilibrium cannot be
satisfied unless the immature TMJ is loaded; (ii) in the neonate, the
direction of condylar loading is approximately vertical but, as the child
matures, the angle of condylar loading becomes more oblique; and (iii)
evidence is given in support of the hypothesis that early development of
the eminence is consequent upon the stimulation of bone growth by the
appropriate position and timing of loading of the immature condyle on the
temporal component of the joint.
