Tactile sensitivity of natural teeth

Abstract

In two experimental series, the tactile sensibility of natural antagonistic teeth was investigated. <br/> In the first series, 109 subjects were tested using aluminium oxide particles of different sizes, uniformly distributed in yogurt. An absolute threshold value of 15 μm was determined. Male subjects detected slightly smaller foreign bodies than female subjects. Most participants were able to improve their threshold values through practice; however, they were not able to reduce them voluntarily. <br/> In the second experimental series, tactile sensibility was assessed using copper foils of varying thicknesses. The median absolute tactile threshold values of 70 tested pairs of incisors, premolars, and molars amounted to 10 μm, whereas the corresponding value for canine tooth pairs was 20 μm. <br/> Calculation of the 50% detection threshold yielded values of 29 μm for incisors, 63 μm for canines, and 17 μm for both premolars and molars. No sex-related differences were observed. The two experimental series assessed different aspects of tactile sensibility. No statistically significant associations were found between tactile performance and age, time of day, tooth alignment, the extent of sliding movement between centric relation and maximum intercuspal position, or the restorative status of the teeth.