Propagation of various tooth impacts in the human body.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how far tooth impacts were propagated in the body and whether the propagation would be influenced by posture. The impacts were propagated to all recording sites on the head and neck of the 10 examinees tested. In the recordings on the limbs, even at the most distal site, the number of examinees detecting the vibration was seven out of nine examinees. These results showed that the impacts exerted on the tooth were propagated to distal sites of limbs through the bones and soft tissues and implied that the propagated vibration would influence the whole of the body. On the other hand, as the amplitude of propagated vibration was influenced by posture and recording site, the posture during jaw functioning appears to be important.