The correlation between dental occlusion and posture is different in trained versus nontrained subjects

A relationship between postural control and occlusion is known and the postural variation after a change in occlusion might be different in athletes compared to sedentary subjects. Ten healthy sedentary subjects (nontrained group) and ten healthy athletic subjects (athlete group) were studied by static posturography with and without the interposition of cotton rolls between opposing teeth. Postural control was only slightly modified by the change in occlusion in the nontrained group (p ns) while postural strategies in the athlete group changed significantly (p < 0.001). In the athlete group, the change in occlusion resulted in sensory reorganization with an increase in the visual component and a reduction in the somatosensory component.