Factors affecting Maximum Mouth Opening In an Ethnically-Heterogeneous population: What is the new normal?

Abstract

By Alexis Hebert, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Advisor: Farah Kaval

Abstract: Trismus has been known to reduce masticatory efficiency, oral hygiene, and cohesive bolus formation especially in the head and neck population.1 A maximal mouth opening (MMO) of < 35 mm is used in the diagnosis of trismus regardless of age, height, weight gender or ethnicity. MMO is defined as the interincisonal distance. Given the relative importance of MMO to masticatory function, the demographic variation of MMO in an ethnically-diverse population remains unstudied.. Other studies have suggested the ability to place 3-4 fingers vertically between the frontal incisors (MMOfingers) as a subjective measurement of MMO. We sought to investigate this in our healthy, ethnically-diverse population of 330 participants.