The mandibularly fixed hinge axis – investigation of patients with sound and pathological jaws

Summary In former works, we had proved that test persons with sound temporomandibular joints (TMJs) used a mandibularly fixed hinge axis (MFHA) and were able to pilot the mandible by solely two kinematical degrees of freedom. We wondered if we could evaluate the MFHA the same way for patients who had problems with their TMJs. Actually, the MFHA could be determined likewise. The results could provide information on the reason for the distortion of the movement of the TMJs, which cannot be yielded by X-ray radiographs.