Existing evidence suggests that body balance ability is associated with dental occlusion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether: (i) there are differences in balance between opposed dental occlusion (intercuspal position, ICP; cotton rolls, CR) for two extreme levels of stability and (ii) the influence of dental occlusion on the balance control gets stronger under fatigue conditions. To this aim, various measures for assessing postural control in ten physically active subjects were obtained prior to and following a maximal lower limbs exercise consisting in six sets of fifteen seconds stretch-shortening cycle jumping. Balance control at stable and unstable condition was evaluated on an unstable platform Balance System SD for both dental occlusion conditions at random order. Metabolic and psychological measurements ensured the high intensity of the exercise. At unstable level, balance control was significantly improved in the CR condition, for both rest (p=0.03) and fatigue (p<0.001). Whereas at stable level, the influence of dental occlusion only reached significance in fatigue condition (p=0.04). It could be concluded that the sensory information linked to the dental occlusion for the balance control comes strongly into effect when more difficult conditions for the balance control are present (i.e., unstable conditions, fatigue).
Keywords: Balance control; Dental occlusion; Exercise; Unstable platform.
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