A Clinical Observation: A Relationship of Occlusal Contacts to Distal Musculature

Dentists treating craniomandibular dysfunction frequently encounter pain and dysfunction in seemingly unrelated distal areas of the body. This is a study using manual palpation to demonstrate a change in distal muscle pain response caused by altering an apparent noxious tooth contact. Forty-four (n = 44) patients with a defined muscle involvement were selected for this study. After isolating one tooth and the single contact that influenced the muscles under observation, one or two slight alterations were made to the contact to redirect the occlusal force in all but the four control subjects. Thirty-eight (n = 38) patients showed marked relief in tenderness to palpation following minute tooth alteration in the muscles being observed. Two (n = 2) showed slight improvement. No significant change in pain to palpation was noted in the control group (n = 4). The results suggest that altering an apparent noxious occlusal contact has a direct influence on muscles in other parts of the body.