The T-SCAN System in Evaluating Occlusal Contacts.

Abstract

Normal occlusal and articulation relations between the jaws ensure equal distribution of occlusal forces during mastication. A T-SCAN system allows these relations to be measured dynamically during the articulation cycle. To evaluate the T-SCAN III system in measuring and assessing the forces of occlusal contacts and their digital presentation. Thirty students aged 19 - 22 years were examined. Of these only one matched the study criteria: - intact dentition; - without or with class I fillings in teeth 36 or 46; - Angle's class I jaw relation We used a computerized occlusal analysis system T-SCAN in the study. It comes with a registering sensor for the occlusal contacts, a module for transmitting the signals to a computer, and conversion software to generate images on a computer screen. We evaluated the system's capabilities in registering the occlusal contacts during mastication on an occlusion film and the occlusal forces using a digital display. The T-SCAN system provides the only accurate way to determine and evaluate the time sequence and force of occlusal contacts by converting the qualitative data into quantitative and displaying them digitally.