The Effect of Removal of the Disc on the Friction in the Temporomandibular Joint

Tanaka, Eiji; Dalla-Bona, Diego A.; Iwabe, Tatsunori; Kawai, Nobuhiko; Yamano, Eizo; van Eijden, Theo; Tanaka, Masao; Miyauchi, Mutsumi; Takata, Takashi; Tanne, Kazuo

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2006.04.017

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 64, Issue 8 , Pages 1221-1224, August 2006

The Effect of Removal of the Disc on the Friction in the Temporomandibular Joint

Eiji Tanaka, DDS, PhD
- Associate Professor, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Tanaka: Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Diego A. Dalla-Bona, DDS
- Graduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Tatsunori Iwabe, DDS, PhD
- Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Nobuhiko Kawai, DDS
- Graduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Eizo Yamano, DDS
- Graduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Theo van Eijden, MD, PhD
- Professor and Chair, Department of Functional Anatomy, ACTA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Masao Tanaka, PhD
- Professor and Chair, Division of Mechanical Science, Department of Systems and Human Science, Osaka University School of Engineering Science, Osaka, Japan.
Mutsumi Miyauchi, DDS, PhD
- Associate Professor, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Pathobiology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Takashi Takata, DDS, PhD
- Professor and Chair, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Pathobiology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Kazuo Tanne, DDS, PhD
- Professor and Chair, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.

Purpose

The amount of friction in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is dependent on the joint components, including the synovial fluid, disc, and articular surface cartilage. As friction in the TMJ is less than in other (discless) joints, we hypothesized that this is caused by the presence of the disc.

Materials and Methods

The frictional coefficient of the TMJ was first measured in the intact porcine joint (n = 10). After the disc was removed the measurement of frictional coefficient was conducted again. Furthermore, the subsequent effects of loading duration and the application of hyaluronic acid (HA) were examined.

Results

The mean frictional coefficient in the intact joint was 0.0177 (SD 0.0021). After disc resection it became 0.0361 (SD 0.0063). The frictional coefficient increased with the length of the preceding loading duration and exceeded 0.0635 (SD 0.0085) after 30 minutes. Subsequent application of HA resulted in a slight decrease of the frictional coefficient.

Conclusions

The presence of the disc reduces the amount of friction in the TMJ. This reduction is likely due to the role of the disc in reducing the amount of incongruity between the articular surfaces and in increasing synovial fluid lubrication.