Maximum Mouth Opening Using Three Finger Index

Annalie  D. Pateña,; Chariza Beng  M. Tubo,; Gabrielle  M. Cueto,; Katherine Faye  C. De Chavez,; Keen Alexandra  C. Maraquilla,; Maria Martina  B. Atienza,

Maximum Mouth Opening Using Three Finger Index

Discipline: Dentistry

Abstract:

Maximum mouth opening can be an essential tool for proper diagnosis of oral issues. This study intends to establish the maximum mouth opening as reference guides for clinicians and to develop a reference guide of maximum mouth opening for Filipino patients. This was conducted in order to determine the normal range of mouth opening in order to quantify the variation of maximum mouth opening (MMO) of the respondents. The research was undertaken by determining if maximum mouth opening depends on age, gender, any previous history of trauma, tenderness or clicking sound at rest or during jaw movements and head and neck disorders. In order to measure MMO, Boley gauge and three finger index were used. The result of the survey and examination showed that male respondents have bigger maximum mouth opening range than female respondents and healthy respondents have smaller mouth opening than those underweight respondents. Based on the results, maximum mouth opening is independent with age as it had given inconsistent measurement for each age bracket. Body mass index (BMI) affects the maximum mouth opening based on the collected data. For some respondents, four fingers can be used for measuring the MMO exceeding the three finger index method used by the researchers. This paper can be enhanced by emphasizing more on the correlation of both height and weight to MMO regardless of age, sex and ethnicity of the individuals and by determining other factors that may affect the maximum mouth opening of Filipino people. The future researchers can use and utilize other methods on measuring the maximum mouth opening.

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