Measurement of intraoral muscle forces during functional exercises.

Measurements of intraoral muscle force with foil strain gauges, load cells, and pressure transducers bonded to a Tru-Tain stent and to a lip bumper appliance were tested by means of seven functional exercises in five adult subjects over a 5-day interval. The measuring devices and the functional exercises were tested for replicability and validity. Results showed that the pressure transducer was the superior measuring device with respect to size, sensitivity, thermal compensation, factory uniformity, replicability, and validity. The device most susceptible to error, on the basis of these factors, was the foil strain gauge. Of the seven functional exercises used, the pronunciation of the words "phone," "mom," and "church" and the exercise of swallowing were replicable over time. The other three exercises--chewing gum, sucking, and blowing on a straw--were determined to be unreliable in terms of replicability over time. Overall pressure values recorded were significantly higher than in previous reports. Pressure values were higher for the Tru-Tain stent than for the lip bumper.