Influence of the craniomandibular system on human posture control during dynamic balance tasks

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Marc Schmitter; Professor Dr. Thorsten Stein
• Subject Area: Dentistry, Oral Surgery
• Term: from 2019 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 427937447

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

The project focused for the first time on the investigation of the influence of oral-motor tasks (jaw clenching and pressing the tongue on the palate) on the postural control of humans when solving dynamic-reactive and dynamic steady-state balance tasks, which could also be an approach to reducing the risk of falls. In the first experiment, the influence of oral-motor activity on postural control during a dynamicreactive balance task (Posturomed) was investigated. For this purpose, the influence of different oral-motor activities (submaximal clenching with the teeth (JAW), submaximal tongue pressing against the palate (TON), and taking an individual habitual jaw position (HAB)) on balance was assessed using an unstable platform that can be accelerated unpredictably in four directions. An improved balance response of the JAW group compared to the other two groups during forward acceleration of the platform (threat of a backward fall) was demonstrated, which was associated with lower mean velocities of the anatomical regions. However, on the basis of electromyographic (EMG) analyses, no conclusive explanatory model for the measured effects could be developed at the neuromuscular level. After a subsequent intervention, in which one group undertook a oneweek jaw clenching training to make jaw clenching an implicit task, learning effects were evident in all groups, but no interaction effects at the performance level. At the reflex level, sporadic effects of jaw clenching were shown for perturbations in the anterior-posterior direction. In the second experiment, a steady-state balance task (stabilometer) was used to investigate whether balance training together with simultaneous jaw clenching training leads to an augmentation of the balance performance. The results show, among other things, that balance performance was better under the jaw clenching condition at T1 and T2 than under the nonclenching condition. Furthermore, regardless of the intervention and in absence of interaction effects, the findings show that all groups showed better balance performance at T2, suggesting learning effects. The improved performances at T2 were associated with reduced muscle activities, indicating increased movement efficiency. On the other hand, EMG results showed no reduction in muscle activity in the jaw clenching condition, although performance in the jaw clenching condition was better than in the non-clenching condition. In summary, it can be stated that jaw clenching can contribute to improved performance in dynamic-reactive and dynamic steady-state balance tasks, but the effects have to be classified as small, which makes their detection difficult, because learning effects in the studied balance tasks may already mask these effects.

Publications

• Der Einfluss oral-motorischer Aktivität auf die reaktive Balancekontrolle. Abstract & Vortrag von D. Hellmann auf 54. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Funktionsdiagnostik und -therapie (DGFDT) 2021.
  Kanus, L.; Fadillioglu, C.; Möhler, F.; Ringhof, S.; Schindler, H.J.; Stein, T. & Hellmann, D.
  
• Influence of controlled masticatory muscle activity on dynamic reactive balance. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 49(3), 327-336.
  Fadillioglu, Cagla; Kanus, Lisa; Möhler, Felix; Ringhof, Steffen; Schindler, Hans J.; Stein, Thorsten & Hellmann, Daniel
  
• Influence of Controlled Stomatognathic Motor Activity on Sway, Control and Stability of the Center of Mass During Dynamic Steady-State Balance—An Uncontrolled Manifold Analysis. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16.
  Fadillioglu, Cagla; Kanus, Lisa; Möhler, Felix; Ringhof, Steffen; Hellmann, Daniel & Stein, Thorsten
  
• Effects of jaw clenching on dynamic reactive balance task performance after 1-week of jaw clenching training. Frontiers in Neurology, 14.
  Fadillioglu, Cagla; Kanus, Lisa; Möhler, Felix; Ringhof, Steffen; Hellmann, Daniel & Stein, Thorsten
  
• Effects of stomatognathic motor activities on dynamic reactive balance. Abstract und Vortrag auf der Jahrestagung der dvs Sektion Biomechanik 2023.
  Fadillioglu, C.; Kanus, L.; Möhler, F.; Ringhof, S.; Schmitter, M.; Hellmann, D. & Stein, T.
  
• Effekte von Beißaktivitäten auf das dynamische steady-state Gleichgewicht. Abstract und Vortrag auf 56. Jahrestagung der DGFDT 2023.
  Fadillioglu, C.; Hellmann, D.; Kanus, L.; Möhler, F. Schindler, H.; Schmitter, M.; Ringhof, S. & Stein, T.
  
• Influence of oral motor tasks on postural muscle activity during dynamic reactive balance. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 51(6), 1041-1049.
  Hellmann, Daniel; Fadillioglu, Cagla; Kanus, Lisa; Möhler, Felix; Schindler, Hans J.; Schmitter, Marc; Stein, Thorsten & Ringhof, Steffen