Date of Award
Fall 1986
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Dentistry
First Advisor
Ziebert, G. J.
Second Advisor
Quock, R. M.
Third Advisor
Fitts, R. H.
Abstract
Given the universal applicability of a number of epidemiologic studies from Scandinavia, it is estimated that about l /6 of the American population suffer from facial pains and headaches that have their origins in the jaw muscles and temporomandibular joints, because of clenching and grinding of the teeth. Only during the past 20 to 3O years has the dental profession made efforts, on a larger scale, to understand, treat, and, possibly, prevent these aches and pains. In the scientific exploration of health and disease, three different approaches are usually available : clinical investigations, experiments with humans, and experiments with animals. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages, and also ethical considerations are of concern. For example, it is unethical to experimentally induce permanent damage in human subjects. In the dental literature, relevant animal experiments are scarce and, regrettably, of limited informative value. Clinical investigations, on the other hand, are numerous and of both limited and extensive informative value. The reports, each with its own emphasis, range from visually observed attritional loss of dental hard tissues, purported to be the result of hyperactivity of the jaw muscles, to highly speculative psychoanalytic theories on the mind's reasons for the hyper activity. All of them may contain grains of subjective truths, and a substantial amount may be questioned in regard to scientific: and hence clinically relevant: truths...
Recommended Citation
Christensen, Lars V., "Isometric Jaw Muscle Activity and Associated Pain: Observations on Methodology and the Effect of Ibuprofen" (1986). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 5366.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/5366