OR13 - Association of Occlusal Force with Cracked Teeth

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between occlusal forces and cracked teeth. A total of 42 cracked teeth from 35 patients were enrolled. Of these, cracked teeth occurred unilaterally in 30 patients (85.7%) and bilaterally in 5 patients (14.3%). All the cracked teeth were molars. The patients underwent occlusal examinations using the T-Scan III system (Tekscan). The relative occlusal forces (ROFs) of all teeth, including the cracked teeth and the control teeth, were recorded. For the unilaterally cracked-teeth patients, the control teeth were chosen as the non-cracked teeth from the same dental arch but on the opposite sides. For the bilateral cracked-teeth patients, the control teeth were selected as non-cracked adjacent molars. The differences in ROFs between the cracked teeth and the control teeth in the same patient were analyzed using a paired t-test. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between the ROFs and cracked teeth. The mean ROFs of the cracked teeth were 15.6±6.4% and 15.0±2.9% for the unilateral and bilateral cracked-teeth patients, respectively, both of which were statistically significantly higher than those of the control teeth (11.2±6.7% and 10.8±2.9%, p<0.01). In patients with unilaterally cracked teeth, the total ROFs of all teeth on the cracked side (53.8±16.6%) were statistically significantly higher than those on the opposite side (47.2±13.4%) (p < 0.05). A statistically significant correlation between the ROFs and cracked teeth was observed, indicating a correlation between excessive occlusal force and cracked teeth.