Poor teeth alignment can affect posture control as well as static balance, scientists have claimed, suggesting that correcting dental irregularities may help prevent falls and instability, especially in athletes.
Teeth may be perfectly aligned or they may present alterations with varying levels of severity.
Dental occlusion or the contact made between the top and bottom teeth when closing the mouth, is increasingly on the minds of many patients following a routine visit to the dentist.
Two new studies, by researchers at the University of Barcelona in Spain and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, have confirmed a less obvious relationship between an imperfect bite and postural control.
Although this relationship may seem statistically weak, it grows stronger when a person experiences fatigue or when instability is a factor.
"When there is a malocclusion, it is classified according to scientifically established criteria. What is relevant in the study is that malocclusions have also been associated with different motor and physiological alterations," said Sonia Julia-Sanchez, a researcher at University of Barcelona.
Both studies provide conclusive data which show that postural control is improved - both in static and dynamic equilibrium, when different malocclusions are corrected by positioning the jaw in a neutral position.
This relationship is not as obvious in everyday static conditions, although there may be conditions associated with pathologies, such as obesity, that worsen the body's instability, thus decreasing postural control and increasing the risk of falls, researchers said.
This relationship in athletes can play a crucial role in how well they ultimately perform as well as in the prevention of injuries such as sprains, strains and fractures caused by unexpected instability as fatigue increases and motor control capacity decreases.
"Therefore, it would be helpful for both the general population and athletes to consider correcting dental occlusions to improve postural control and thus prevent possible falls and instability due to a lack of motor system response," said Julia-Sanchez.
"Postural control is the result of a complex system that includes different sensory and motor elements arising from visual, somatosensory and vestibular information," she said.
In recent years there has been increasing scientific interest in the relationship between the stomatognathic system (the set of organs and tissues that allow us to eat, talk, chew, swallow and smile) and postural control.
There is a reciprocal influence between the trigeminal nerve and the vestibular nucleus - which are responsible for the masticatory function and balance control, respectively - as well as between the muscles of mastication and of the neck.
This influence would explain why dental malocclusions negatively affect postural control, researchers said.
The findings were published in the journals Motor Control and Neuroscience Letters.
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