In a recently published article from the Academy of General Dentistry, Dr. Ben Sutter takes a close look at the so-called phantom bite (PB), a term introduced by JJ. Marbach to describe the false belief of patients, whom he characterized as exhibiting a single hypochondriacal delusion—that their dental occlusion is abnormal.

The recommended treatment for this classified subgroup of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) sufferers included psychotherapy, drug therapy, and emotional techniques to motivate patients to accept their occlusion as-is and focus on other aspects of their life.

However, out of all of the findings produced by authors assessing PB patients, none had used objective diagnostic occlusal measurement tools. Instead, authors relied on articulating paper as a force level indicator—which is ultimately based on their subjective interpretation of the shape, size and color of the paper marks that appear on occlusal surfaces of contacting teeth.   

In this article, Dr. Sutter presents a different approach to assessing and treating PB patients—one that owes its success to a digital occlusal analyzer [T-Scan] used to evaluate a patient’s occlusion.

The patient in question, a, 63-year-old woman, visited Dr. Sutter after seeing several other doctors, spending thousands of dollars on multiple crowns, and receiving inadequate occlusal adjustments from sequential dentists. Using T-Scan, Dr. Sutter was able to reveal the presence of both occlusal contact force and contact timing discrepancies, undiagnosed by every other professional she had seen.

Dr. Sutter uses this case study to highlight the abilities of T-Scan, as it facilitates computer-guided occlusal adjustment therapy and demonstrates 95% force distribution reproducibility per subject from intercuspation to intercuspation [compared to paper marks which Qadeer et al* reported only correlate - surface area to force – 38.3% of the time].

Explore Dr. Sutter’s full case study that describes a patient who met the unified diagnostic criteria for PB and was evaluated with a comprehensive dental and occlusal examination, including the use of a digital occlusal analyzer. After receiving proper treatment, the patient reported that her occlusion had become comfortable and repeatable—and you could become this kind of saving grace for your patients too.

Want to explore more clinical applications of T-Scan? Download our latest eBook >> Where T-Scan Fits into Your Everyday Dentist

*Qadeer S, Kerstein R, Kim RJ, Huh JB, Shin SW. Relationship between articulation paper mark
size and percentage of force measured with computerized occlusal analysis. J Adv Prosthodont.
2012;4(1):7-12.