Evaluation of the correlation between dental occlusion and posture using a force platform

OBJECTIVES Force platforms are widely used to evaluate the relationship between posture and dental occlusion. This study evaluated whether force platforms are able to detect eventual postural modifications resulting from dental occlusion. METHOD A total of 44 healthy volunteers who were given no information on the aim of the study underwent six postural stabilometric exams under different mandibular and visual conditions. Four parameters were considered: sway area, sway velocity, X axis displacement of the center of the foot pressure and Y axis displacement of the center of the foot pressure. RESULTS An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed the relative influence of each factor; specifically, the ocular afference significantly influenced the sway area and sway velocity parameters, and the mandibular position had only a weak influence on the sway area parameter. CONCLUSIONS Vision was shown to influence body posture, and a weak correlation was observed between mandibular position and body posture in healthy subjects. However, the force platform is most likely not able to clearly detect this relationship. Gnathologists must use caution when using force platform analysis to modify a therapeutic plan. The sway area seems to be the most sensitive parameter for evaluating the effect of occlusion on body posture.