The T-SCAN System in Evaluating Occlusal Contacts

Abstract

AbstractBackground: Normal occlusal and articulation relations between the jaws ensure equal distribution of occlusal forces during mastication. A T-SCAN system allows these relations to be measured dynamically during the articulation cycle.Aim: To evaluate the T-SCAN III system in measuring and assessing the forces of occlusal contacts and their digital presentation.Patients and methods: Thirty students aged 19 - 22 years were examined. Of these only one matched the study criteria:- intact dentition;- without or with class I fillings in teeth 36 or 46;- Angle’s class I jaw relationWe used a computerized occlusal analysis system T-SCAN in the study. It comes with a registering sensor for the occlusal contacts, a module for transmitting the signals to a computer, and conversion software to generate images on a computer screen.Results: We evaluated the system’s capabilities in registering the occlusal contacts during mastication on an occlusion film and the occlusal forces using a digital display.Conclusion: The T-SCAN system provides the only accurate way to determine and evaluate the time sequence and force of occlusal contacts by converting the qualitative data into quantitative and displaying them digitally.