Stabilometry platform benefits in diagnosis and occlusal orthosis treatment of occluso-postural deficiency: preliminary study on 30 patients

Abstract

The posture can be defined as edifying and active in the maintaining of the different body parts in the space and translates the way the body challenges different situations and reacts toward the outside world. The posture is the convergence of muscular activity (tonic and phasic) and is related to a cranio-cervico-mandibular balance. On an anthropologic plan, postural stability is a flexible concept due to many ways for a human being to maintain around his balanced position. The posture aims to allow the movement of a body segment whereas it stabilizes the others segments and insures the maintaining of the erected station and fights against gravity. Regarding the literature there is no real consensus on a link between dental occlusion and posture when using measuring instrument to evaluate it. The different studies are contradictory. During the Milan consensus conference in 1997, it has been reported that there was no scientific proof to support a link between occlusion and posture [1]. Perinetti in 2006, has shown on a 26 patient’s cohort, with the help of posturography, the lack of postural modifications when the occlusion was changing [2]. Mandredini, et al. [3] has demonstrated throughout a systematic review that different techniques and posturoraphic devices failed to detect an association between body posture and dental occlusion. In some cases a link was detected, but it couldn’t be statistically significant [4]. The most complete evaluation published concludes that the utility of instruments such as surface electromyography, kinesigraphy, stabilometry platform and other postural devices is still weak on dentistry techniques [5].