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In order to examine the relationship between occlusal support and head posture, the electromyographic (EMG) activities of the jaw closing muscles and the sternocleidomastoid muscle during voluntary maximal clenching (VMC) under several conditions of occlusal support in eight healthy dentates were recorded and analysed. The head posture was also recorded simultaneously by the electromagnetic, 6-degree-of-freedom tracking instrument (POLHMUS Co. 3 SPACE-WIN*). In the VMC with lateral imbalance of occlusal support, EMG activity of the jaw closing muscles and the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the occlusal support side was greater than those on the non-occlusal support side, and the neck was bent in the direction of the occlusal support side. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the asymmetry of muscle activity (asymmetry index) of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the angle of lateral bending of the neck. From these results, it can be said that lateral imbalance of the occlusal support could promote imbalance in sternocleidomastoid muscle activity, causing lateral bending of the neck. From this study, it is suggested that there is a close relationship between occlusal support and head posture.

Successful prosthodontic treatments for a patient with removable partial dentures including maxillofacial prostheses hopefully brings about psychological wellbeing as well as improved health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and the various aspects of denture function. At first, a questionnaire with a visual analog scale with 16 question items concerning denture and/or eating problems, the present state of health, psychological and physical wellbeing, life satisfaction, and QOL was developed. To discuss the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 48 outpatients who wore a denture were asked to fill it out. Next, to discuss the difference in QOL of the patient with various kinds of dentures and conditions, 103 outpatients were asked to complete the newly developed questionnaire. The questionnaire which contained four factor areas with eight questions for denture patients was developed by factor analysis with Varimax rotation. The reliability of the QOL scale was confirmed by reliability analysis (Cronbach's alpha = 0.784). The QOL score of edentulous patients with a complete denture having some trouble chewing was significantly lower than that of other denture patients. It was suggested that the wearing of a denture significantly affected the QOL of elderly persons.

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