A Proof-of-Concept Computational Workflow for Model-Based Estimation of Temporomandibular Joint Loading During Mandibular Movement Using a Kinematics-Driven Generic Musculoskeletal Model

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) biomechanics are difficult to assess in vivo because mandibular motion, muscle recruitment, occlusion, and neuromuscular control interact dynamically.This proof-of-concept study examined whether participant-specific mandibular kinematics obtained by three-dimensional motion capture could drive a generic mandible/TMJ musculoskeletal model in inverse dynamics and whether model-derived masseter waveforms could be compared exploratorily with masseter-region surface electromyography (sEMG).Five young adult women without self-reported temporomandibular disorder history or current symptoms performed maximum opening, self-estimated submaximal opening, lateral excursion, and protrusion-retrusion using customized mouthpieces for jaw tracking.Kinematic data were acquired from all participants.Inverse-dynamics outputs were obtained for P1, P2, P4, and P5; P3 failed because of a model error.Because P2, P4, and P5 showed frequent force spikes, detailed force analysis was limited to P1. Retrospective CORrelation and Analysis (CORA) comparisons of bilateral sEMG and stored model-derived masseter signals yielded mean scores of 0.6009 in P1 and 0.6406 across 24 comparisons in four participants.However, incomplete records of signal construction, scaling, trial handling, and CORA settings precluded reproducible verification.In P1, the right TMJ was treated as the primary output because marker registration produced left-sided muscle overactivation in the unscaled generic model.Mean right-TMJ resultant force during submaximal opening was 79.11 N. The superior lateral pterygoid showed the largest predicted relative force contribution, but this remains a modelgenerated hypothesis without sensitivity analysis.The workflow demonstrated case-level technical executability but not cross-participant robustness, physiological validity, or clinical utility.Larger studies using anatomically personalized models and patient cohorts are therefore required.