The car hit the barrier once- with very poor results for the car. Your teeth hit each other with even more force and get hit repeatedly through your life.

The car hit with a force of about 90 psi. Ninety psi is much less force then the teeth normally encounter. The normal biting force (also called occlusal force) has been reported to be in the range of 200-500 psi (lbs/sq inch), with extremes being 1000 psi, up to a maximum reported of about 1500 psi. Fortunately our teeth do not usually get crushed or shattered like the car, but the force can be transferred into the bone, causing loss of bone. The way the teeth actually bite together is called occlusion.

If a force of 200 psi is concentrated in a area only a tenth of an inch by a tenth of an inch the force is equivalent to 20,000psi. Obviously this could be damaging. We recommend that if the bite is uneven, the pressure on the teeth should be spread out equalized- over as many teeth as possible, by an adjustment. Do not attempt this at home.

Researchers in a letter in the July 2005 issue of JADA (Journal Of The American Dental Association) wrote that "there was a statistically significant relationship between the presence of occlusal [bite] discrepancies and the long-term progression of periodontal disease. Furthermore the treatment of occlusal discrepancies by occlusal adjustment significantly slowed the progression of periodontal disease.

Click here for more information on occlusal [bite] adjustment

© 2005 - 2006 Dr. Richard Davidson, All Rights Reserved. All Images & Information are owned by Dr.Richard Davidson, and may not be reproduced without his written permission.